16 Going on 25
by juicyfruits
Summary: Hermione wakes up to find that she has no memory of the past nine years- and she's twenty five and somehow married to Draco Malfoy himself. Humorous romance fic.
1. Then I Woke Up

**Disclaimer: I got the inspiration for this story from an Asian Drama. The plot is, however, very different. The starting idea is from that drama, and the characters and the setting of the world comes, of course, from J.K. Rowling. Enjoy this story!**

:Then I Woke Up:

Hermione groaned. A horrid headache made her want to cry as she hoisted herself up. She looked around. It looked like a hospital. A lot like St. Mungo's.

Her heart skipped a beat. It must have been some serious injury, whatever it was, for her to be at St. Mungo's rather than at the hospital wing.

How did she end up here, anyway? She strained to remember…right…that was it…

"_I can't believe you, Malfoy!" she cried, her wand pointed at him. He smirked. _

"_Don't have to. It's not like I care about how a dirty little Mudblood thinks about me," he droned, and Goyle and Crabbe laughed goofily behind him._

_That did it. Hermione waved her wand to hex him…but all she saw then was an explosion of light then…there was a blackout. _

"That dastardly ferret!" cried Hermione angrily, frustrated at having been successfully hexed by Malfoy. "I'll get him…"

Just then, the door opened. And…a tall man walked in. He looked as if he was in his mid twenties, and had silver blond hair and pale skin…just like Draco Malfoy. He even looked a bit like him. He gave a big sigh of relief when he saw that Hermione was sitting in her bed.

"Oh, thank Merlin," he said, hurrying over to her bedside. "You woke up. Are you alright?"

"I'm…fine," she said. Up close, he looked even more like Malfoy. But that couldn't be. This man was clearly a lot older than him.

"Do you remember how you got hurt, baby?" he said anxiously. Hermione stared at him, startled. Did he just call her 'baby'?

"Who are you?" she said. He stared back at her in shock.

"You don't recognize me?"

"No."

"Really?"

"I swear, I've never seen you my whole life…though you do remind me of someone I know," she replied truthfully.

"Oh, who?" he asked.

"Just a boy at my school," she shrugged. The man looked absolutely horrified at once, which scared Hermione a bit.

"School?"

She nodded. "Hogwarts, of course."

Then, he did something strange. He got up from his chair and reached for a little button on Hermione's bedside table. Pressing it, he murmured, "could I have the Healer in here? Thanks."

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, absolutely confused, "who are you?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he seated himself again. "You said I remind you of someone else," he said finally, "who's that?"

"Draco Malfoy. I swear, you resemble him a lot," she replied.

He started laughing while Hermione stared at him, puzzled.

"Of course I do!" he laughed, "cut it out, Hermione, you can stop it now. Come on, let's take you home."

"What are you talking about?" said Hermione, starting to get irritated. Just then, the door opened and a woman in Healer's uniform entered.

"What's going on?" she barked.

"Well, Madame Fitzer, I thought something was wrong with her, but I think she's just joking," he smiled.

"Are you sure, Mister...er," Madame Fitzer looked down at her clipboard, "Draco Malfoy?" Hermione jumped.

"Draco Malfoy?" she cried, jumping up. Why did he look so much older? And why in the world did he call her 'baby'?

"Oh," said the Healer, "so something _is_ wrong with her." She leaned closer to Hermione. "What is your name?"

"Hermione Granger. And that ferret hexed me! That's why I'm here!"

Madame Fitzer frowned at Malfoy.

"Of course not. And Granger's her maiden name," he explained at once.

"What?" cried Hermione, frowning.

"Next question," said the Healer, as if she did not even hear her, "how old are you?"

"I'm not married! What's this talk about maiden names?" cried Hermione.

"How old are you?" Madame Fitzer repeated.

"Sixteen."

There was a bit of silence.

"You have _got _to be kidding me," murmured Malfoy.

"I'll see if we can brew something up to get her back," said Madame Fitzer, getting up and preparing to leave.

"What the heck is going on?" Hermione was sick of being ignored.

"Okay, sweetie, here," he sat near her bed and spoke as if talking to a little child. "You're twenty-five and we got married two years ago, remember?"

ooo

"It seems as if she lost some of her memory," explained Madame Fitzer, tapping at her clipboard, "she only remembers up to a certain day from when she was sixteen."

"Then what can I do to get her memory back?" asked Draco desperately, "she doesn't know we got married, and she seems to hate me with a passion." He smirked a little as he remembered how she had called him "ferret" for the first time in years. "She loathed me back then."

Madame Fitzer rolled her eyes, "the same stories, really." She hoisted herself up in her seat. "We got some potion that we thought would help, but really, it hasn't helped her at all. In this case, we just have to wait and see if any of it comes back."

"Look, lady," said Draco darkly, "there has to be _something_ you can do. Money's not a factor here."

"There's nothing I can do," shrugged the Healer.

ooo

When Draco returned to the room, Hermione was sitting up on the bed, staring into a hand-held mirror in shock. She didn't look sixteen anymore; she looked like she ought to be at the very least, twenty-one. Yet that _ferret_ had told her that she was _twenty-five_. How was that possible?

"Hey," said Draco, getting closer. She jumped and stared at him as if disgusted.

"What have you done, Malfoy?" she spat, "what did you do to me? What's going on?"

"Well, the Healer says you've gone through a memory loss," he said softly, as if crooning a baby, "but it's alright, it'll come back to you."

"Stop being ridiculous," Hermione said airily, "there is no way..."

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth, memory losses do occur, and-"

"No, not that!" she spat angrily, "I meant...why in the world did I marry _you_?"

ooo

"Ginny? Ginny!" Hermione cried, jumping off her bed, "is that really you?"

"Uh, yes, Hermione," smiled Ginny anxiously. She was in a slick red dress, she was so much taller, and...could that really be the fifteen-year old, crushing-on-Harry, brave Ginny?

'What's wrong with her?" Ginny mouthed at Draco. He sighed in return.

"She doesn't seem to remember anything since...some day from Hogwarts."

"_Hogwarts?_" cried Ginny. She stared at Hermione in shock. "You really don't remember?"

"I remember you, of course, Ginny!" said Hermione, giving Ginny a tight hug.

"But she doesn't remember that we got married," Draco mumbled, irritated.

"It doesn't make sense!" cried Hermione. She hung on to Ginny, "I never liked that ferret! I liked Ron, remember?"

Ginny turned her head to Draco as if asking for help. Then, she sighed and turned to face Hermione. "Hermy, you broke up with him in year six or something, remember?"

"_What?_" Hermione's eyes widened. "_Broke up?_ So I actually _dated_ him?" For a second there she looked pretty excited, her cheeks turning pink.

"Hermione, sweetie, it lasted a month," Ginny explained, "then you started dating Draco here-"

"-but that doesn't make sense!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's what I said then."

ooo

"_Hermione? Are you okay?" called a familiar voice. Hermione fluttered her eyes open._

"_Oh, hi, Ron," she said sheepishly, getting up. _

"_Hey, take it easy." Ron's voice seemed comforting. _

"_What happened? Where am I?" asked Hermione, scrunching up her face due to the horrid headache._

"_You're in the hospital wing...and you were trying to hex Malfoy, and your curse backfired."_

"_Oh," she muttered, embarrassed. She clenched up her fists. "I'll get him, that stinking ferret!"_

"_I'll take care of him," grinned Ron, patting Hermione on her head. Their eyes met, and there was a bit of silence. He was leaning in...closer and closer. She closed her eyes, her heart beating so fast she was afraid he would hear it..._


	2. The Malfoy Manor

:The Malfoy Manor:

"No way," said Hermione defiantly, glaring at him.

"What do you mean, _no way_? Where are you going to sleep, then?" he asked, irritated.

"...take me to Ginny's house."

"No."

"Harry's?"

"No. Not Potter's."

"Ron's?" her cheeks became warm as she mentioned his name, and Draco smiled a wicked smirk.

"No can do. He's got his own wife-"

"-_what?_" cried Hermione, aghast. "Ron is _married?_"

"And so are you. Come here, we gotta go home!"

"I'm not going home with you!" yelled Hermione angrily, her eyes starting to water a bit. "...Ron got _married_? To who?"

"I forget. Come _on,_ Hermione, don't be stubborn."

"Tell me!" she cried, putting her foot down.

Draco sighed. "Some chick called Cameron Janice or something. _Now_ can we go home?"

She was speechless as he held her and Apparated out of St. Mungo's.

ooo

"Get off of me," grunted Hermione, pulling herself away from Draco. He rolled his eyes at her as they made their way into the Manor.

"Why on earth did I marry a jerk like you?" asked Hermione, "I mean, was I on drugs or something? Did you put a curse on me?"

"You used to say I _enchanted_ you," smirked Draco, "so sure, if you want to put it that way..."

"Oh, shut up," Hermione said coldly. "I'm going to figure it out, I'm going to divorce you, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" cried Draco, coming to a halt. "_Divorce_?"

She crossed her arms. "Of course. Why would I stay married to a _ferret_? No, there _is_ no way I married you in the first place. I'm going to need some proof!"

He grinned at once. "You'll find enough of those evidences once we get in our bedroom."

"Get in our _what_?" cried Hermione, horrified.

ooo

"See that right there? Right above the bed on the wall?" he said proudly, "that's our wedding photo."

A huge photo of the two was hanging where he was pointing. Hermione was in a gorgeous white dress with a revealing neckline, and Draco was in a shiny black tux. And what horrified her the most was what they were doing in the photo: they were _kissing_.

"Ew!" she cried, "I _kissed_ you? I didn't even get my first kiss yet!"

Draco smirked. "We didn't just _kiss, _if that's what you are complaining about."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, wide-eyed.

He was taken aback a bit. "Don't look at me with an innocent face like that! You don't know?"

"Um..."

"Okay, look," Draco cleared his throat. "How do I say this... Okay, here we go. You are not...a virgin. Do you know what that means, Hermione? What I'm trying to say here is that, for the past two years, on this bed..."

Hermione's face turned crimson red. "No way!" she bellowed, running out of the room.

ooo

"Ma'am?"

Hermione was sitting alone in the Malfoy Manor's grandiose living room when she turned abruptly at the sound of an old man.

"Excuse me?" she said, mortified. And then she remembered she was- _she cringed_ – twenty-five years old.

"Dinner is ready, ma'am," said a bearded old man in a suit.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" she asked cautiously.

"Watterson, of course, ma'am," he said, sounding perfectly calm, "your butler."

"Butler?" she frowned, "I thought Malfoy had house elves."

"I did, and then I married you," came Draco's voice as he descended down the stairs. She turned to glare at him, but he continued: "you made me free all my house elves." He did not seem, to this day, very happy about it.

"Now _that_ sounds like me, for once," said Hermione, crossing her arms, "although I still can't believe I would marry a Malfoy."

"Now you _are_ a Malfoy, Hermione," Draco rolled his eyes. "And I still can't believe you don't remember!"

"Sire, your dinner-"

"Of course, thank you, Watterson," said Draco, pulling Hermione up by her arm and practically dragging her to the dining room.

ooo

"Tell me everything," demanded Hermione as Watterson served them appetizer, "what happened in the last...nine years then?"

Draco picked up a stuffed mushroom. "Let's see," he said, waving the mushroom around with his fork, "I started dating you in sixth year. We graduated and you got a job at Gringotts. I worked for the Ministry. When you were twenty-two, I proposed and you accepted-"

"Yeah, two of those do not make sense at all," interrupted Hermione, putting her hand on her forehead.

"I agree. Neither of us actually _had_ to work-"

"No, not that! Me dating you and you proposing and I accepting...well, I guess that's technically three things."

He shrugged. "It's the truth." He then smiled wickedly. "Do you want to hear how I proposed and how psyched you were when you accepted?"

"No," said Hermione, narrowing her eyes. "Now, what about Harry? Ginny? ...Ron?"

"Potter and Ginny Weasley were on and off a lot, but really, I didn't tap into their pitiful, weak relationship," Draco droned, "and Ronald Weasley...went strong with the transfer student from year seven...I mean, six. Yes. Right after you broke up with him." He smiled as he remembered. "Fun times, really."

Hermione's eyes watered up a bit. "So...I ended up with _you_?"

"You make it sound like it's bad thing," he said, putting his fork down, "and as if this is _my _fault, if a fault at all. You fell for me first, you know. You made the first move."

"No way."

"Yes, way. If I'm not mistaken, you were also the one who locked us in a certain broom closet in year six." He grinned. "Really good times."

Her face turned redder than before, showing clearly a mix of shock, confusion, embarrassment, and frustration all at the same time. "I refuse to believe such a thing happened."

"I was taken aback, too," he droned on, "I mean, you _had _been purposely bumping into me many times before that, especially since you confessed you liked me, but I didn't expect you to act so rashly...a sudden eruption of hormones, I bet-"

"Stop it!" cried Hermione angrily, her face burning hot, "stop lying!"

He shrugged and ate his mushroom in silence, smirking to himself.

ooo

"So where am I going to sleep?" asked Hermione, looking at the ceiling.

"Excuse me?" laughed Draco. "Of course you're sleeping with me!"

"That's pedophilia, I'm only sixteen!" she cried, crossing her arms.

"No, you aren't. You're twenty-five."

"Are there no spare rooms in this blinking house?" she demanded, ignoring him.

"Of course there are spare rooms," he replied, "but you're my wife and I refuse to have you sleep anywhere else but in my room and on my bed."

"And I refuse to sleep in the same room with Draco Malfoy, especially when he's some creepy perverted old guy."

Draco scoffed. "Creepy? Perverted? _Old_?"

She nodded. "Mr. Watterson?" she called, and he glided swiftly into the dining room. (As anyone who's read Roald Dahl would know, butlers _never_ walk. They _glide._)

"Yes, ma'am?" he said in a whisper voice.

"Could you show me to a spare room in this manor, please?"

"Of course, ma'am," he replied eloquently.

"No," Draco said, "you're sleeping with me."

"In your dreams!"

"Hermione, if the big M found out we're sleeping in separate rooms, she'll come and Avada Kedavra us."

"Who's the big M?" she asked, frowning.

"Maria Malfoy. My grandmother," he replied, "she's been pressing us to get a baby since-"

Hermione made a disgusted face.

"-we got married, but you didn't want to-"

"Ha!" cried Hermione, "hear that? I didn't want to-"

"-I said you didn't want to have a baby. I never said you didn't like sleeping with me," Draco smirked, "a frequent user of the contraceptive charm, you were."

"Shut up," Hermione crossed her arms.

"Well, you better not tell the big M about that," he continued, "she could barge in any moment and she won't be satisfied until she sees that we're at least in the same room making questionable noise."

She made a disgusted face again. "That spare room, Mr. Watterson?"

ooo

"_Ron, you know how I get irritated when you do that! Stop!" yelled Hermione, "I'm trying to be serious here!"_

_Ron was quiet for a while. "But Hermione...sometimes I think you are a bit too serious."_

_She sighed and massaged her temples, sitting down on a couch. "We didn't argue like this when we were just friends."_

"_I reckon so," came the reply. His shoulders were slumped. "We used to have so much fun."_

"_But it's different now," sighed Hermione, staring sadly at her boyfriend. "I kind of miss those days."_

"_Me, too."_

"_Ron?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_Their eyes met._

"_I think we should just be friends," Hermione said slowly. When she looked up, Ron did not look upset as she expected. _

"_Alright," he replied, his smile very weak. _

"_I love you, Ron. But...as a really, really, good friend."_

"_I know, Hermione, I love you, too."_

ooo


	3. The Kiss

**A/N:** The italics at the bottom of each chapter are, for your reference, flashbacks to the past which Hermione does not remember. She's not remembering these bits yet, it's just for you readers. The italics _during _the fic are either a story someone is telling of the past or bits that Hermione may remember (and this will be clear to you when we get to these, so don't worry!) Thank you for all the great reviews, and don't forget to review this one! :)

:The Kiss:

Hermione fell asleep wishing she would wake up and find out everything was just a nightmare, but when she did wake the next morning, she was still in one of the big, grand rooms in the Malfoy Manor. Groaning, she got up and headed to the full-figure mirror. And there she was. Hermione, twenty-five years old.

She noticed again that her bushy brown hair was now rather smooth and wavy, and that she was taller. She stared at her chest in the reflection and could not help but feel a bit smug about it. She twirled around in the nightgown Watterson had brought her last night, admiring herself.

"Ma'am?" There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" called Hermione, sitting on her bed. Watterson glided into the room with a basket of clothes.

"Good morning, ma'am. Master Malfoy told me to bring these to you," he explained, "he said he put your favorite undergarments at the bottom." It was amazing how Watterson could say all of these things without changing his facial expression once. He was an exceptionally talented butler, after all. "He'll be waiting for you at the breakfast table."

"Thank you, Mr. Watterson," she said, taking the basket from him. He left immediately, closing the door behind him.

Hermione began looking through the basket. Blouses, skirts, pants, slacks...and when she reached the bottom of the basket, her cheeks turned pink. With her fingers she picked up a lacy black knickers so small she wondered how anyone could actually _wear_ them. She gasped in horror at all the other kinky undergarments there. "As if!" she said angrily, throwing them into a pile on the floor.

When she made her way down to the dining room, he was already at the table, reading the Daily Prophet with a cup of coffee. He waved at her. "Remember anything, baby?"

"No. And don't you ever call me that again," growled Hermione, taking a seat.

He raised his brows. "Call you what?"

"_Baby_. It gives me the creeps, Malfoy."

Draco laughed, tilting his head back. "You _begged _me to call you that after we graduated."

"No chance," she spat, scowling.

"And no chance of a good morning kiss, either?" he asked, a smirk visible on his lips as he struck his cheek out in her direction.

She shook her head in disbelief. "Look. So it's already established that I was clearly _mental_ to have married you, but what made you..." she trailed off, her voice stiff and her cheeks rosy.

"Make me what?" asked Draco innocently.

"..._like me_." She finally managed to say, staring down at the plate of breakfast Watterson had put down in front of her.

"Who said I liked you?" he said playfully, "I merely _went along_ with your endless pursuits."

"I'm serious!" said Hermione furiously.

"Okay, fine." Draco cleared his throat as if to make a huge announcement. Even as he did so he could not help but think how adorable his wife was, sort of back to her sixteen-going-on-seventeen years. In a way he had never expected, of course, but nevertheless. "You kept on following me around in kinky clothes."

"No!" cried Hermione, aghast.

"Of course not. I'm kidding," laughed Draco, "besides, that happened way after we officially started dating."

"Why did I marry an immature jerk like you?" she asked aloud, rolling her eyes, "it's an eternal mystery."

"Hey, I thought we were talking about _my_mentality. Anyways, hmm...when did I stop loathing you...I can't quite remember..." He leaned back on his seat, a smug smile on his beautiful pale face. "Ah! I remember now. We got locked together in a broom closet."

"No, seriously."

"I'm serious!" laughed Draco. "Remember how I told you, you locked us in another time? You did that because you wanted the _exact same thing_ to happen again."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What _exact same thing_?"

He sighed. "Now listen carefully..." He began his story.

"_How dare you insult me like that in front of everyone!" cried Hermione angrily, "it normally doesn't bother me what a jerk like you say, but you...complete perverted jerk!"_

_Draco shrugged, smirking. "What did I exactly do to upset you, Mudblood?All I did was give constructive criticism on your particular outfit today." His eyes trailed down to her short skirt. "Really, you would think Mudbloods would at least _try_ to not be so low class."_

"Wait!" cried Hermione, "why would I dress like that?"

"Don't ask me," shrugged Draco. "To impress Weasley or something, I don't know. Now let me continue."

"_Low class?" cried Hermione, "oh, you!"_

"_Who's there!" came Filch's voice from down the hall. Hermione and Draco both looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was well past curfew._

"_Damn it," grumbled Draco, running his fingers through his irresistible silver blond locks..._

"Don't tilt the story," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?" asked Draco innocently, "you must admit, my hair really is-"

"-just continue!" Hermione interrupted, and he obliged.

_Draco jumped into the broom closet near to hide himself._

"_Hey!" cried Hermione. She looked around for a place to hide, but there was nowhere else. She jumped into the closet as well and shut the door._

"_What are you doing, Granger?" hissed Malfoy._

"_Just shut up," she hissed back, moving uncomfortably in the small, dark closet. It was then that he caught a whiff of her strawberry shampoo...and his hand, unwillingly, caught her..._

"_Malfoy!" she cried, jumping, "what the hell are you doing?"_

_He smirked in the darkness. "As if I would purposely touch you."_

"_What does that supposed to mean?" she hissed angrily._

"_Shh, I can hear Filch," whispered Draco._

_She shifted uncomfortably as to get away from him as far as possible, but ended up brushing her body against his more and more. Her face turned crimson red, and she felt hot. And apparently, he had noticed it._

"_You getting a bit warm there, Granger," he droned quietly. She felt vulnerable with Malfoy right behind her, and she turned around to face him with much difficulty._

"_Shut up, ferret," she hissed at him._

"_Mrs. Norris, smell around for some, will yeh? I sure smell some kiddies here," came Filch's grouchy voice. The two stood in the closet perfectly still, inches away from each other. Each other's presence was overwhelming._

"And you have to admit. It doesn't matter how unattractive the girl is, if you're in such an enclosed place with a girl, and if you're sixteen with hot blood boiling in your veins, you crack down in the end," Draco interrupted the story, "so you basically caused this. You came in the closet after I did."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione, frowning, "what happened?"

_Draco's hands found their way to Hermione's waist._

"_Hey!" she hissed as quietly as she could._

"_Shh," he whispered, "you're getting pretty warm here, Granger."_

"_Malfoy!"_

_He was holding her closer. And his lips met hers. It was rather forceful at first, but got a lot relaxed and...enchanting later. _

"You _kissed_ me?" cried Hermione, "ugh!"

He shrugged. "I think I stopped loathing you so much after that. Thought you could be a lot of fun."

"That sure sounds like you," groaned Hermione, giving him the evil eye.

"And I _would _go on about what happened later, but I don't know if you wanna hear it," he said, picking up his muffin. Watterson glided in and poured him some more coffee.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, "tell me. Oh, and thank you, Mr. Watterson."

Watterson nodded and smiled before gliding out as gracefully as before.

"But it's such a private manner," Draco said dramatically, "and what do I get in return?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

He brightened up. "We could start by you moving back to our room."

"Forget it," she said, crossing her arms.

He rolled his eyes. "There's my stubborn Hermione," he droned.

"I'm not yours, for the record!"

"You said you were mine when you confessed you liked me," he said, smirking.

"Is that what I did? In...the broom closet?"

He shook his head. "No, you were way too stubborn to admit it then."

"Yeah, yeah," Hermione rolled her eyes, "tell me what happened."

"Fine." He put down his muffin.

_She found herself kissing him back, and later, she realized that the top buttons of her blouse were undone and that his hands were stroking her bare thighs._

"Slapped you silly, I bet I did," said Hermione, interrupting once more.

"Not really," grinned Draco, "you got red in the face and ran out the closet. Avoided me for two whole days."

This time the present-day Hermione turned red in the face. "Ridiculous. First kiss from _you_?"

"I doubt that," he said, "I think your first kiss was Weasley." He didn't seem very pleased.

"Really?" she again looked excited.

"You weren't my first kiss either, so I don't think that really matters," he shrugged. "Oh, but I'm pretty sure that was _your_ first snogging experience. Or being felt up."

She threw him a disgusted look before getting up and walking out.

"You enjoyed it! I could reenact it if you like!" he called after her.

ooo

Harry was waiting in front of Three Broomsticks with Ginny when Hermione made her way. He looked pretty much the same except taller; he greatly resembled his father from the photos she had seen.

"Harry!" she called happily.

"Hey, Hermione!" he called, waving. Ginny waved, too. "How are you?"

"Confused," Hermione replied. "Where's Ron?"

"Running late, I guess. He's coming," said Ginny, "let's go in."

The three walked in. Hermione noticed a few changes in the interior, but not much. She felt very much at home there.

"So you don't remember anything since a day from when you were sixteen?" asked Harry, sipping his drink.

She shook her head sadly. "Nothing. All I remember is a blackout from when he hexed me."

"He?"

"Malfoy," she said, "I tried to hex him but I think he was faster."

"I don't remember you being hexed by Malfoy like that," shrugged Ginny, "unless you're talking about that time when your hex backfired and you were unconscious for three days."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yep. And then Ron and you started dating."

"Oh, there he comes," said Harry quickly, conjuring up another chair for Ron.

"You can't use magic out of school!" cried Hermione, surprised.

"Hermione, sweetie, he's legal," laughed Ginny.

Hermione barely recognized Ron. His red locks were still there, but he was rather muscled and tall, and he was somehow...better-looking than before. He grinned when he saw his friends.

"Hey, guys," he said, sitting down. "You alright, 'Mione?"

"She doesn't remember much," Ginny explained. "No memory of the last nine years." She picked up her drink and took a long, nice sip.

Ron cocked his head at Hermione. "From which point do you exactly remember?"

"Malfoy hexing- oh, never mind- my hex backfiring."

"And how did you black out this time?" Harry asked. Hermione shrugged, and Ginny took the liberty of answering for her.

"She fell off a ladder."

"A ladder?" frowned Hermione, "what the heck was I doing on top of a _ladder_?"

Ginny shrugged. "Non-magical injuries are sometimes harder to fix."

"True that," grinned Ron.

They spent a couple of hours helping Hermione catch up with what she no longer remembered. Her school life, graduation, Gringotts, and marriage. And of course, Draco Malfoy.

"I was against it," shrugged Harry, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, when you said you were dating him...I wasn't all for it, either, though I wanted what you wanted."

"And...why didn't you guys stop me?"

Ron, Harry, and Ginny stared at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Hermione! You have no idea how stubborn you are!" cried Ron, "do you honestly think I would have _not_tried to get you away from Malfoy? You two were _inseparable_!"

"And we became cool about it after a month or two." Harry shrugged (he shrugs a lot, Hermione noticed).

"Well, you shouldn't have," said Hermione pointedly. She took a sip of her drink and noticed it was alcoholic and put it down at once. "He's an immature jerk of a ferret."

Ron laughed. How Hermione loved his laughter! "I haven't heard anyone call him _that_ for quite a while!"

"You banned us from calling him that," snickered Ginny. She glanced at her watch. "Woops, look at the time!." She explained that she had work and kissed everyone on the cheek before leaving hurriedly.

After a while, Harry got a call from the Ministry and had to run off as well, leaving Hermione alone with Ron. While she felt extremely uneasy, he seemed laid back.

"So...I heard you got married," she said quietly, breaking the silence. Ron laughed.

"I heard you did, too," he said, grinning. "You really don't remember?"

"I don't even know the girl you got married to," she said, trying not to sound very hurt. "Cameron, her name was? Malfoy told me."

"Yep. You can meet her sometime."

"That'll be nice."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

There was another silence. Hermione knew exactly what she wanted to ask him, but couldn't build up enough courage to ask him until minutes later.

"So, we went out? I mean...you and me."

"Huh?"

"Ginny told me...in sixth year?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. He smiled kindly at Hermione. "I remember that."

"How did it...exactly happen?" she asked bravely yet timidly.

He shrugged. "I had had a crush on you for a while, and you the other way around...but we both found out in the end that we were better off as friends," he explained, "and look how great we both turned out? Cameron's the right girl for me, and apparently you got along well with Draco Malfoy."

"Yeah. Mm-hm. Okay." Hermione did not sound very convinced, and Ron rose his eyebrows suspiciously.

ooo

_Uh-oh. There he was again. Hermione hid herself behind a large grandfather clock. He was walking down the hall in his usual calm, collected manner, with Goyle and Crabbe following him and with Pansy Parkinson glued to his side. And his lips. Oh, his lips._

"_Get a hold of yourself!" she hissed at herself, upset. It wasn't that good of a kiss anyway. And he didn't even mean any of it. It was more like he used her. She ought to be mad at him, not watching him behind a large clock like a stalker._

"_Draco, darling," purred Pansy's voice, "could you take me to Hogsmead this weekend? They got all these new robes, and I really want those-"_

"_Shut up, Parkinson," mumbled Draco, "I think I see someone behind that clock."_

_Uh-oh. Hermione flattened herself against the wall and held her breath. No escape now. Please pass..._

"_Some brownish hair. You see that?" came Draco's silky voice._

"_I don't see anything, darling," said Pansy, "Draco, what about those robes-"_

"_I said shut up," he said, irritated. "Crabbe, Goyle, take Pansy away."_

"_Huh?" said Crabbe stupidly._

"_I said, all of you guys, get away from me," Draco hissed. The boys obliged and dragged Pansy away while Draco strolled along, humming a tune to himself. He was getting closer to where she was hiding. She closed her eyes shut. Oh no..._

"_Granger?" came Draco's amused voice. She opened one eye, than the other. Stop staring at those lips, she told herself angrily as he stood in front of her with a smirk on his lips._

"_Are you stalking me?" he droned._

"_Of course not," she said bitterly. She picked up her bag._

"_If you are spying on me because of that kiss," he continued, still amused, "I could lay another one, just as a charity cause. Your kissing isn't up to my standards, but we all gotta start somewhere..."_

"_Shut up, ferret."_

"_You're welcome," he said. And before she could say anything, he wrapped her in his arms and pressed his lips against hers, putting her under his spell once more. _


	4. The Big M

:The Big M:

When Hermione arrived, Draco was already home from work. He was pacing the room impatiently until he saw her come in.

"You're late!" he cried.

"Late for what?"

"The Big M is coming," he explained, "quick, take off that jacket."

"Excuse me?"

"Hurry up! And sit here with me," he sat down on the sofa, dragging her down with him. He threw his arm over her shoulder.

_Crack_.

"Hello, Nana!" Draco said as cheerfully as possible.

The Big M was a tiny woman, dressed rather elegantly. Her eyes twinkled when she saw the couple sitting fondly(?) on the sofa.

"Oh, _dear Draco,_" she exclaimed, "it's so good to see you!"

"You saw me last week, Nana," said Draco in mock enthusiasm.

"Oh, but it's always good to see you and Hermione here," the Big M went on, "how are you, sweetheart?"

"Uh, I'm fine, thank you," Hermione said, shifting uncomfortably by Draco.

"Any progress, dear?" asked the twinkling lady Hermione was beginning to wonder why she was the "Big M" when she was such a tiny, sweet tempered lady.

"Progress in what, ma'am?" Hermione asked.

"Well, of course, in getting me my grandchild!" the Big M cried, as if Hermione was asking something painfully obvious. "You two promised you would try!"

"We tried, yes, we did," said Draco earnestly, "every night and day, we try. Don't we, baby?" Hermione's cheeks turned bright red.

The Big M tapped her finger on the coffee table in a threatening manner Hermione had not expected. "Then I better see some results, and quick! Hermione, I didn't make you quit your job for no reason, sweetheart. Draco here only has to be about an hour away from home everyday, and you two have plenty of time!"

"True that," smirked Draco, "you know our schedule better than we do ourselves."

"I better hear something this year," warned the Big M, her voice turning more threatening my the second, "or I might send in some more potions for you two!"

And with another crack, she was gone. Draco heaved a big sigh.

"What did she mean, potions?" she asked him.

"The kind that makes you lose control," said Draco, shrugging. "Really, we should start listening to her..." his hand grasped her closer, and his face neared hers.

"Get off of me!" yelled Hermione, breaking out of his grasps.

"Can't a man kiss his own wife?" said Draco in an incredulous voice.

She stuck out her tongue at him and ran off upstairs, her face bright red.

ooo

She had never been treated like this by Malfoy. Of course, he wasn't exactly being 'nice,' but he was acting like a gushy lover to her, teasing her and trying to kiss her..._that_ side of Malfoy, she had never expected (or, more like, _remembered)_. It was definitely weird having him not only call her by her first name but also casually throw an arm over her shoulder. Her face reddened as she realized how _she_ probably acted if she liked him as much to marry him.

Perhaps there was another side of Malfoy that she, in the past nine years, found out. But she didn't know what that was. After all, she was only sixteen.

As she sat at the edge of the bed thinking, she thought about Ron. He was even more good-looking than from when they were sixteen. Tall, handsome, and with that same charming grin she secretly loved. And he had told her that _he_ had a crush on her for years! How could she have missed that? Why did her memory have to skip all those _dreamy_ times? She sighed deeply.

"Your dinner, ma'am," called Watterson from out the door.

"I'll be right down, Mr. Watterson," she called back, dragging herself off the bed.

ooo

"I'll be out later to meet up with some friends," said Draco casually over the roast beef.

Hermione concentrated on scooping the potato. "Like I care where _you_ go," she mumbled.

"You don't care?" he asked, amused, "what if I have a few drinks and meet some girls?"

"Be my guest," mumbled Heremione again. "Mr. Watterson, may I have some more water?"

"Sure thing, ma'am."

"_Hermione_," Draco said, "what happened to my jealous Hermione?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "First I'm your _stubborn_ Hermione, and now I'm your _jealous_ Hermione? Well, let me tell you right now. I'm not _yours_ at all."

"So you don't care if I don't come home tonight?" he droned, "you know, I'm only twenty-five. I can handle girls fifteen and up."

"Disgusting," said Hermione, "you _are_ a pedophile."

"But _they_ follow me," shrugged Draco, "they never believe me when I say I'm happily married."

"Yeah, yeah," said Hermione carelessly, cutting up her steak. She was rather ravenous after all the hard thinking. He stared at her amusedly, watching her eat.

"You know, if you continue eating like that, the Big M might really get convinced."

"Convinced of what?" said Hermione, gulping her food down. She stabbed her fork into a boiled carrot.

"That's a great idea, really...just get you fattened up so she thinks you're pregnant."

She threw a goblet at him.

"Hey!" he said, catching it with his hand, "this is expensive!"

ooo

Blaise Zabini laughed hysterically, and Draco rolled his eyes. "_Sixteen_? You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wish I was," shrugged Draco, sipping his drink.

"Aw, look at you, Draco. Getting married early and going through all these problems," said Blaise, grinning, "look at me. I'm single, available, and irresistible."

"She didn't even care when I said I might not come home tonight," said Draco, completely ignoring his friend's remark, "she's gone back to the time when she _loathed_ me along with her little Gryffindor friends."

"Cute."

"More like adorable." He took another drink. "And I can't lay a finger on her."

"On your _own_ wife?" laughed Blaise, "and Hermione, too! You were practically _glued_ to each other every night and day since Hogwarts."

"Well, apparently, she only remembers from the time when we weren't."

"That sucks," Blaise offered, "but seriously, it must be pretty exciting, living with a wife with the innocence of a sixteen year old."

"You're sick, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," grinned Blaise.

ooo

"Of course, he can't be serious," said Hermione, pacing the room, "do you really think he won't come home, Mr. Watterson?"

"I am sure he will return," replied the butler gracefully.

"But of course, I don't care," she told herself firmly. "Mr. Watterson, I'm going to sleep."

"Very well, ma'am." He glanced quickly at the clock. It was only nine.

"Because I don't care if Malfoy doesn't return," she said, sitting down on the couch.

"Very well, ma'am," Watterson said once more.

"In fact, I would be very glad indeed if he didn't come!" she announced.

"Very well, ma'am," said the butler.

"Oh, is that all you can say?" spat Hermione, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands in the air. The butler didn't even flinch.

ooo

"Well, then," grinned Blaise, leaning towards him, "you planning on having some fun tonight?"

"I have to go home," Draco replied, hanging up his phone. He had made quick call to his ever faithful butler to arrange a few things.

"No, you don't! You said she wouldn't care!"

"But I do," his grin grew wider, "I have much to teach her."

"And you say I'm the one who's sick?" Blaise rolled his eyes.

ooo

"Madame, Master Malfoy has arrived," Watterson informed Hermione politely. She quickly glanced at the clock.

"It's only eleven," she said, puzzled yet relieved for a reason she could not comprehend.

"Good evening," Malfoy said as he strolled in, nodding at Watterson. "Hey, baby."

"_Don't_ call me that, ferret," she said crossly, "why are you home so early?"

"Because I couldn't keep you waiting," he grinned. "Besides, the girls at the bar are not as interesting as you."

She hid her amusement. "_Interesting?_"

He nodded and sat down in his armchair, smug. "Quite not the innocent charm. Quite not the bravado to call me a hairy mammal. _Rawr_."

She rolled her eyes at his playful grin. "I'm going to sleep," she announced, standing up.

"Great idea," he agreed, getting up as well, "I will go to my room, and you will go to...the one you have decided you're going to use. And of course, there should be nothing wrong with that decision."

"I'm afraid not, sir," said Watterson the butler, poking, but gracefully, his head in through. "The other rooms will not be available."

"Why?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"They are all being renovated," the butler replied eloquently, "it is our annual renovation night."

"Your rooms get renovated every year?" she cried, bewildered.

"All except the master bedroom, which is quite perfect," Watterson explained.

"My old room is fine. I don't want it renovated," Hermione said, rolling her eyes incredulously.

"I'm afraid renovations have already started, madame. If you go in now, it will be all dust and cement. You are going to have to stay in the master bedroom for tonight."

"Ugh!" Hermione cried furiously, stomping up the stairs, "I'm going to figure something out. There is _no way _I will sleep in the same room as that stupid ferret. Since when did you have these stupid, random _room renovations?_"

Draco grinned and winked at his butler. "Since today," he whispered to himself.

"_Isn't Malfoy just dreamy?" sighed Lavender, "I mean, I know he's a jerk and a player and all that, but you must admit, he's pretty hot."_

"_Tell me about it," sighed Parvati, fanning herself with her hand, "and that gorgeous pale skin of his, those golden locks-"_

"_-would you guys be quiet?" snapped Hermione, "I'm trying to concentrate." She shut her gigantic book- entitled "Bat's Skin and its 500 Uses"- and crumpled up her parchment. _

"_Geez, Hermione," said Lavender, crossing her legs on her bed, "is that all you do? Study?"_

"_Just because I don't sit and daydream about guys all day, it doesn't mean all I do is study," Hermione replied crossly._

"_You don't daydream because you have a boyfriend, Hermione," Parvati got up from her bed and circled Hermione's desk. "But we all know how that's been going for you these days."_

"_What do you mean?" Hermione snapped._

"_You guys are always fighting," Lavender chirped, "what's going on?"_

_Hermione didn't really know. He was a nice guy but...they were always fighting. It wasn't like she didn't try. She always tried to impress him by being thoughtful, doing little thins for him, dressing nice...which reminded her...that had somehow led to her fighting with that ferret and ending up in a broom closet with him. And somehow, a kiss later...and she couldn't deny she didn't like it. It sent an electric shock through her veins, and she didn't feel that with Ron much. Was it possible that...no. No way._

"_Maybe you guys should break up," Parvati chattered on, "you guys fought much less when you were just friends."_

"_What do you know?" Hermione said coldly, "please don't butt into my private life."_

"_But at Hogwarts, there IS no private life," snickered Lavender, "which reminds me...I saw that we weren't the only ones eying Draco Malfoy."_

_Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "What?"_


	5. Warm Night

**A/N: **I'm sorry for some typos in the previous chapters...I use a spell-checker but it doesn't catch "by"s that have been misspelled as "my"s. Haha.

:Warm Night:

"I'll shiver if I have to, I'm sleeping outside," Hermione said firmly, "besides, I can _make_ warmth. You're forgetting that I'm a witch, for crying out loud. Why, I could conjure up a bed!"

Draco rolled his eyes, relenting. "Okay, fine, you win! Sleep in the living room. Sleep on the dinner table!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. She felt for her back pocket. "Wait," she said, her face turning pale, "where's my wand?"

"What?" cried Draco, aghast, "you don't have your _wand_?"

She didn't remember having it when she was at the hospital the day before...and she hadn't really thought about it ever since. She felt faint. A witch without her wand was like a soldier without his sword.

"Give me your wand," she demanded, "let me _Accio_ mine."

Draco was just about to reach for his pocket when he froze, a playful smirk on his lips. "No," he said.

"Don't be childish. Hand it over," said Hermione, getting irritated.

"I'm the one who's being childish?" he cried in reply, "you're the wife who's refusing to sleep with her husband."

"You're the one who's being a perverted freak," Hermione snapped, "hurry up. _Accio_ my wand for me."

"No," he said again, smug.

"Oh, you!" Hermione gritted her teeth, stomping one foot to the floor. "Fine, be that way! I'm still sleeping in the living room."

"Fine," shrugged Draco.

"Mr. Watterson?" she called. The butler glided into the room swiftly.

"Ma'am?"

"You have a wand, do you not?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Draco's smug face.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am. I am a Squib," replied Watterson.

Hermione's face turned red. "Oh, I'm sorry, I did not mean to offend you-"

"-it's quite alright, ma'am," said Watterson, "now, is there anything else you required?"

"Well, could you bring me some blankets? I'll be sleeping on the sofa today. And make sure that the heater is on-"

"No," said Draco, "don't listen to her, Watterson. Do not attend to her needs tonight."

"Malfoy!" growled Hermione, "you jerk!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I technically am employed by Master Malfoy here," Watterson said apologetically before gracefully gliding away.

"I hate you," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I love you too, baby," smiled Draco. "Now...good night!"

"You are a jerk, you know!" she called after him as he ascended up the stairs, "letting your, your..._wife_ freeze to death!"

"Oh, _now_ you're my wife?" called Draco, "that's very convenient...but at least it's a progress...but, as a wife, don't you think-"

"-oh, never mind!" grumbled Hermione, knowing what he was going to say. He shrugged and ascended up the stairs.

ooo

It was pretty cold as Hermione tried to make herself comfortable on the sofa. It wasn't even fur sofa, but one of those expensive leather ones. Even the cushions around were leather to match it, so it was difficult to stay warm even by stacking them on top of herself. She shivered. Mr. Watterson would have turned on the heater at night anyway, but because of Malfoy being a complete jerk, even that was off. Her blood boiled in fury as she imagined Draco Malfoy, warm and cozy, in his grand master bedroom. She knew she always hated him, but now she loathed him. Detested him. She needed some more verbs.

She kicked herself up. There was no way she could fall asleep, shivering like this. She had to find somewhere else to sleep; this room was too large. Even in the dust and cement, perhaps she could sleep in a smaller room. She began tip-toeing to the room she occupied last night.

Her cold hand touched the doorknob. She carefully turned it, but in vain. The door was firmly locked. She cursed in her breath and tried a few other doors. They were locked as well. Sighing, she returned to the living room.

The marvel floor seemed too cold and the leather sofa, which had become slightly warmer due to her body heat, was now cold again. She sighed and wrapper herself tighter in her jacket. It was then that she heard a door open upstairs. She quickly laid down and shut her eyes tight. She could hear the footsteps descending the stairs.

_Malfoy_, she thought, _coming to laugh at my misery_. She shut her eyes tighter. She heard him sigh.

"What am I going to do with you," she heard him say softly to himself. She could feel that he was coming closer.

Hermione felt a warm hand touch her face. He stroke her cheek gently as she kept her eyes shut. "You're making me crazy for you all over again."

_Cheesy line,_ Hermione thought stubbornly, but she couldn't help but love the feeling of his hand on her cheek...and...why was her heart beating so fast?

He began tracing her lips with his finger. _Is he going to kiss me_? She thought. Her heart was beating way too fast for him to _not_ hear it.

Hermione felt something warm drape over her softly. Something so deliciously warm that she almost sighed in pleasure. However, she did not open her eyes until she heard him ascend the stairs again and retreat into his room.

He had draped a blanket on her: a blanket enchanted to radiate its own warmth. She snuggled into it, remembering the warmth of his hand on her cheek and on her lips as she fell asleep.

ooo

"Ma'am." Watterson tapped on Hermione's shoulder.

She yawned as she reluctantly sat up on the sofa. "Good morning, Mr. Watterson."

"Good morning to you, too, ma'am," replied the butler, "your breakfast is ready in the dining room. Master Malfoy is waiting."

"Oh! Malfoy!" Her eyes trailed down to the blanket that had kept her warm last night. It seemed to urge her to do one thing she did _not_ want to do. It would be impossible to pretend she did not _notice_ a warm blanket in the morning.

She followed Watterson into the dining room. Draco was outwardly engrossed in reading the Daily Prophet. Outwardly.

Hermione plopped down on her seat and stayed silent until Watterson placed her breakfast in front of her. She took a sip of her apple juice. "Thanks," she said finally.

"Thanks? For what?" asked Draco right away, putting away his newspaper.

"For the blanket at night. Thank you," Hermione said in a small voice. He smiled.

"You're welcome, but I'm not doing it again tonight," he said warningly, "it's either our room or freeze."

"What's wrong with the other rooms?" said Hermione, "aren't the renovations done yet?"

Draco looked as if pushed to a corner for a second but soon regained himself. "Nope, not yet. It could take weeks."

"_Weeks_?" cried Hermione, "you said it was a renovation _night_. And aren't these renovations being done magically? That's why there are no workers...so it shouldn't take that long-"

"-toast, ma'am?"

She hastily took the toast. "It shouldn't take that long. This is ridiculous!"

He shrugged.

"Couldn't I stay at a friend's or something? I am not sleeping on that sofa...unless I have a blanket." She cleared her throat as if embarrassed.

"You know, we have a perfectly good, warm bed in our room," Draco offered, but she ignored him.

"I bet Mrs. Weasley would let me stay." Draco stared at her, and she blushed. "Of course, that would be weird since I'm old now."

"Very weird. Especially since you are married to me," he replied, rolling his eyes. "It would be unreasonable for you to sleep anywhere except here. Not Weasley's, not Potter's. No."

She sighed and chewed on her toast. Then, something she had not thought of before popped into her head. "Hey, Malfoy-"

"-I said no."

"No, that's not what I was going to ask, geez," said Hermione, rolling her eyes, "I had a question."

"What is it?"

"Um...how were you allowed to marry me?" she asked nervously.

"What, I need permission?"

She cleared her throat. "No...I mean...your father."

He was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "He died when I was in year six."

"Oh!" she cried, "I'm sorry! How did it happen?"

He shrugged. "His spell backfired."

"Oh, that's something I heard before," murmured Hermione.

"What's that?" he frowned.

"Nothing, nothing," she said quickly.

He continued. "If it makes you feel any better, the Dark Lord vanished that year, too."

"Voldemort?" she clasped her hand on her mouth, "he's gone?"

"Yeup," said Draco, "had a real get-down with Potter and a bunch of Aurors. That's when my father died, too."

"I really am sorry," said Hermione earnestly, "you must have been terribly sad."

"Well, actually, at that time, I wasn't in much good terms with him," he replied, shrugging.

"Why's that?"

"I was dating you," he smirked, "go figure."

ooo

It was with a pounding heart that Hermione rang up Ron's number. She was about to hang up after three vain rings when someone picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" said a woman's silky voice. Hermione almost gasped.

"Um, hi," she said, "is Ron home?"

"No, he's at work...may I ask who's calling?" asked the woman.

Hermione gulped. "Er, I'm a friend. Hermione Gr- I mean, Malfoy."

"Oh, Hermione! Why didn't you say so? How are you doing?" the woman seemed glad to hear her.

"You must be..._Cameron._" Hermione gritted her teeth.

"Well, of course! Who else?" There was a bit of a silence. "Oh, that's why. Ronnie told me about the accident."

_Ronnie?_ Hermione bit her lower lip. "Oh, did he tell you?" she said scathingly.

"Of course, we don't keep any secrets," laughed Cameron, "it really is fascinating, your condition. I didn't know witches and wizards got memory losses, too...I thought it was only for Muggles, and you know how I am crazy about Muggle Studies!"

"Mmhmm, of course," Hermione replied. "Um, look. I have to go...I'll ring later."

"Alright, I have to bake the chicken pot pie for Ronnie, too- the chicken's all thawed up. I'll talk to you later! Bye!"

Hermione sank into her seat. It was a stupid idea, calling Ron's home like that. Not when he was _married_ to a girl she had never met. For a second there she felt like crying; it wasn't fair.

ooo

"Why do I have to go back to St. Mungo's?" whined Hermione, "I don't want to go."

"The Healer said they'll keep on trying to help you remember," Draco pressed on, walking alongside her. "They'll try little potions and techniques to help you get your memory back."

"I don't _want_ my memory back," grumbled Hermione under her breath, "it can't be anything good, for me to have ended up with you."

"Isn't that getting a bit old?" he rolled his eyes at her.

"This is my third day. I think not!"

He stopped and turned her around to face him, with his hands on her shoulders. "Look, Hermione. Once you remember, everything will be fine. You'll be perfectly content just like you were before you fell off that ladder. It's just hard to explain to you why you ended up with me, since you wouldn't even believe me when I tell you and give you evidence."

"I don't _want_ to be content in this situation. I want to _get out _of it." Hermione said crossly.

ooo

The Healer's office smelled like cats. Madame Fitzer nodded at them when they walked in and sat down on the red chairs. "Any progress?" she barked.

"None at all," Draco replied, "she doesn't remember anything."

"I drew up these plans for you," barked Madame Fitzer, taking out a sheet of paper and some tiny glass bottles. She picked one up and shook it. The color of the potion changed from turquoise to transparent pink. "Take this potion once a week."

"Oh, thank you," sighed Draco, reaching for the potion. Madame Fitzer moved it out of his reach.

"That would be seven hundred galleons," she said primly.

"Seven hundred galleons?" cried Hermione, "for those little bottles?"

"Of course not," barked Madame Fitzer, "for one of these little bottles."

"No problem," said Draco hastily. He took out a small checkbook. "That's five bottles, so that would be thirty-five hundred. Done."

The Healer smiled as she took the check from him. "Those will only help, though. It's not guaranteed to get her memory back. And I also got these tips that might help. Take a look." She nudged the sheet of paper at them, and Hermione picked it up.

"'Take the patient to places where big events occurred.'" she read.

"I took her home, where really big events occurred on a daily basis," smirked Draco, "and she doesn't remember anything. But I could give it a try."

She scowled at him and read the next one. "'Explore activities the patient's body rather than the mind might remember.' What's that supposed to mean?"

Madame Fitzer looked up from her check. "Oh?" she said, "you know, you're not a virgin, and-"

"Ew!" cried Hermione, "no way!"

"You see that? That's why we get no progress," droned Draco.

The Healer shrugged. "I guess it doesn't have to be that dramatic, if she doesn't even remember liking you. Start small."

"No," groaned Hermione.

"She wouldn't even let me touch her. It's like she would hex me if I did."

"Oh!" cried Hermione, "that reminds me! Did I leave my wand here by any chance?"

"Your wand?" the Healer frowned. "No. You didn't have your wand when you were escorted here in the first place."

"Who escorted me?"

Madame Fitzer pointed at Draco. He shrugged. "You didn't have you wand when you..._fell_."

"This is ridiculous," groaned Hermione.

ooo

Draco dropped off Hermione and Apparated somewhere else right away- to Blaise's flat.

"What's going on?" asked Blaise, surprised to find his friend at his door. Draco drew out something.

"I want you to hold on to this for a while," he said, handing it to Blaise.

"Isn't that a wand?" Blaise exclaimed, "whose is that?"

"Hermione's," said Draco breathlessly.

"Why do I have to hold on to her wand?"

"Long story. But hide it well and make sure no one comes and gets it except me, got that?" Draco said.

"I can pretty much guess what's going on," snickered Blaise, "you're pathetic. You know that?"

"I know," Draco replied.

ooo

_Breaking off with Ron was rather easy. He took it well. And they were going to stay friends. And she kept on telling herself that this had nothing to do with a certain Slytherin. But somehow...why did he look so dashing all of a sudden?_

_She was mindlessly staring at him during Potions. She nearly jumped out of her seat when he turned to face her directly with a smirk._

"_If I didn't know any better, Granger," he said slowly in a whisper, "I would think you fancied me."_

"_In your dreams, Malfoy," she said, but she knew the crimson color of her cheeks would have given away. _

"_It is perfectly okay to fancy me," he droned. "A lot of girls do."_

"_Why, you stuck-up, arrogant-"_

"_-Miss Granger!" hissed Snape, "what on earth do you think you are doing?"_

"_Sorry, Professor," said Hermione, her head down._

"_She was trying to flirt with me, sir," said Draco, "adorable." Gasps and giggles ensued in the dungeon as Hermione shook her head furiously, her face bright red. _

"_What, Hermione?" cried Harry, frowning._

"_That lying bastard!" cried Ron. _

"_I don't want any of this teenage drama in my class," hissed Snape, "and please, Miss Granger, keep your feelings to yourself."_

"_What? No! I do not like that-" Hermione began, flabbergasted._

"_-page six hundred twenty-four, please," said Snape, ignoring her. Hermione buried her burning face in her hands. She felt Ron nudge her side._

"_You don't really fancy him, right? Right, Hermione?" he whispered._

"_Shut up," groaned Hermione. _


	6. Diagon Alley

**A/N: **The rating "M" means 16+ according to the policies on this site. The TV show I'm basing the idea off of was 14 or 15, I think. This is definitely around there. :D And I am sorry I didn't get to update for a while...well, happy reading!

:Diagon Alley:

"You can freeze to death if you want," droned Draco, "don't think I'll be charitable again."

She scowled at him. However, she knew that she couldn't stay another night on the sofa, shuddering with her hands and feet cold as ice. She reluctantly followed him into the master bedroom, where the gigantic portrait of she and he kissing on wedding day hung over the bed.

"Never gets old," he sighed, satisfied, smirking at Hermione's disgusted expression.

It really was warm and nice in the room, and she began to feel it wasn't that bad after all. The bed was big. Without warning she climbed onto the bed.

"In a hurry, are we?" he grinned, but she ignored him. She pulled the cushions out and began aligning them across the middle of the bed.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, incredulous. Hermione had soon built a line out of cushions and had positioned herself on one side of it.

"Don't even think about crossing this," she warned, pointing at the cushions.

"This is ridiculous," he scoffed. "Do you really expect me to-"

"-good night," she interrupted, making herself comfortable under the blanket and shutting her eyes. He stared at her incredulously, sighed, and plopped down on the other side of the bed, tossing his shirt off. She did not notice because her eyes were shut, and he was quite disappointed. The line of cushions seemed unforgivably high and seemed more like a fence.

He lied in the darkness, listening to Hermione's soft breathing as she fell asleep. And soon he fell asleep as well, shaking his head in disbelief.

ooo

When Hermione woke up in the morning, Draco was gone. She observed the position of the cushions and concluded that they have not been tampered with.

"Good morning, Mr. Watterson," she said cheerfully, smiling at the butler as she entered the dining room for breakfast an hour later.

"Good morning, ma'am," he replied, as all polite butlers do. "Coffee?"

"No, thank you. I think I'll have some orange juice."

"Very well, ma'am," he said before gracefully gliding away. She noticed that Draco wasn't at the table.

"Where is he?" she asked when Mr. Watterson came back with the jug of orange juice.

"Master Malfoy has left momentarily to take care of some business, he informed me," the butler replied. Hermione nodded.

She could not help but be bored at her idle life. With no school and no job, she had nothing to do. That was precisely the reason why she decided that she would have an outing today to Diagon Alley. She always found interesting things there, and perhaps she could pick up some books to read.

Hermione was sitting outside the ice cream parlor enjoying a sundae when she saw a tall, brown-haired boy looking through some shop windows. He was accompanied by a friend, a shorter boy with long blond locks. She guessed that they must be older than her...wait, she was twenty-five. They had to be about seventeen.

It took her awhile until she realized that they were looking at some books that were on display. Interested, she quickly paid for her sundae and approached the shop. She stared through the glass to find that they were looking at a new book released by one of the popular Quidditch players.

"Who's that?" she asked.

The boys turned, alarmed. They had not noticed she was next to them. The taller boy answered, "oh, that's Frederich Gonzales." She nodded at him and realized that he was very good-looking. His complexion was fair and his eyes were of deep hazel behind the black-framed glasses he wore.

The boy's facial expression changed as well when he saw Hermione, too. For one, his face turned red.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy," he said rather hastily, sticking out his hand. Hermione shook it.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hermione," she replied.

"And I'm Charlie," said the shorter boy, who hadn't noticed his friend's change in tone. He cheerfully shook Hermione's hand.

"Oh, my friend's brother is named Charlie," smiled Hermione.

"Do you come here often?" asked Jeremy with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Sometimes," she replied, "what year are you guys in?"

"Seven," replied Charlie. "You?"

"Si...I mean, I graduated already," she said. "Wait! Do I look like I would be in school?"

"Well, I guess not, but if you repeated a year or two..."

"Don't be stupid. I would have noticed her if she went to Hogwarts," said Jeremy sharply to his friend. Charlie shrugged, and then a mischievous smile appeared on his lips. "Dude!" he cried.

"Shut up!" hissed Jeremy. Hermione was confused.

"Um, so, how old are you?" he asked.

"S...twenty-five," Hermioen replied. She had to get used to saying her age correctly.

"Dude!" cried Charlie again, laughing. Jeremy gave him the evil eye and turned to smile at Hermione.

"I'm not seventeen. In fact, I'm eighteen. My birthday's early," he said although he wasn't asked. "And honestly, you don't look any older than twenty or even nineteen."

"Thanks...I guess," said Hermione slowly.

"Hermione!"

She turned. Ron was waving at her from the end of the street, with a woman standing next to him. Her stomach churned.

"I gotta go, nice meeting you guys," she told the boys hastily. Jeremy looked disappointed.

"Wait, could I have your-" he began, but Hermione was already rushing to where Ron and his wife stood.

"Dude, she's twenty-five!" laughed Charlie when she was a good distance away, "I mean, she's hot, but-"

"Shut up," mumbled Jeremy, his face red.

ooo

"Hi, Ron...and Cameron."

Cameron Janice was indeed a beautiful woman. Her shiny black hair, pale skin, and sparkling blue eyes reminded Hermione of the classic tale of Snow White. She was dressed in a white blouse and a turquoise skirt, styling a purse of the same color. Her smile was sincere as she greeted Hermione warmly. She was taller than Hermione but of course, shorter than Ron. She was also very fit, her curves more womanly, if anything, than Hermione's own. She could not help but feel jealous.

"It's so good to see you!" Cameron sang in her beautifully silky voice, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Hermione replied. She was beginning to get sick of people treating her as if she was really mentally sick. She felt better, however, when Ron gave her a big bear hug. She hoped he didn't hear her heart beat fast.

"What are you doing here all by yourself? Where's Malfoy?" he asked brightly.

"He had some stuff to take care of," she responded, "how about you?"

"He didn't have work today, so we came out to get some fresh air and to do some shopping," Cameron answered for Ron, smiling kindly.

"I didn't ask you, I asked Ron," Hermione snapped, and Cameron was a bit startled. Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Hermione stared down the road. She didn't feel comfortable standing there with Ron and his wife. "Look, I have to go...it was nice to meeting you guys here," she said. And she left as hastily as she had come to talk to them.

ooo

"It is time," announced Draco, "to try one of these."

They were in the living room, and Hermione had been looking through some magazines she found in the house. She put her finger down in the middle of the article she was reading – _Is Frederich Gonzales Really Dating Bianca Marie Olivier?_- and looked up.

Draco was holding up a small bottle. Hermione noticed that it was the one Madame Fitzer had prescribed her. She yawned. "Even the Healer said it _might_ work," she said.

"Which is why I paid only seven hundred galleons per bottle," Draco droned, "if it worked for sure, I would pay three sound a bottle."

"Are you done bragging about your wealth?" snapped Hermione, going back to reading the magazine. Frederich Gonzales kind of looked like Ron.

"Come on. Take it," Draco insisted. Watterson brought a fancy goblet and he poured the potion into it. It fizzed a bit.

Hermione took the goblet and peered inside, sniffing a bit. "It smells horrid," she announced, but answering Draco's evil eye she sipped it.

"Well?" Draco looked desperate.

"It tastes like strawberry milkshake gone bad," Hermione announced, shaking her head in disgust as she put down the empty goblet. "That, mixed with raw eggs and blue cheese."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Not the taste! Do you remember anything? Any sudden realizations?"

"I don't know about remembering," said Hermione slowly and dramatically, "but I did realize something."

"What is it?" Draco nearly jumped in eagerness.

"I realized that you have been swindled by Madame Fitzer, because I don't remember a blinking thing," she finished. She picked up her magazine and continued to read about why the actress Bianca Marie Olivier could never be good enough for Frederich Gonzales.

Draco sighed. "If the potion doesn't work...I guess we can try some from the list."

What happened next, she was not expecting it. He pulled her up from the couch by her wrist, making her drop the magazine. He cupped her face and kissed her smack on the lips.

Hermione, at first, did not resist. She was too shocked to do so. And then, as she realized what was going on, she began to struggle, punching his sides. But he was much stronger than her. She was almost running out of breath as the kiss ensued, and later...she found that she wasn't resisting anymore. His lips felt so soft, and...

Draco pulled away from her, breathing heavily. "Remember anything, baby?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione was dazed for a moment. She blinked a couple of times. Apparently, he took that as a comeback from a flashback and he beamed.

In fact, he was so delighted that he didn't get a chance to defend himself when Hermione's fist flew at his nose.

ooo

"_Hey, Draco! Isn't that Granger over there?" asked Crabbe. Draco looked up abruptly (why?) from his game of chess with Goyle. They were out on one of the tables set out for students near the lake, and Hermione was only two tables away from them, outwardly engrossed in a book. Then she did a curious thing. She looked up from her book to steal a glance at none other than Draco himself. When she realized that he was staring at her and their eyes met, she became red-faced and stared down at her book again. _

"_What's up with that Mudblood lately?" asked Goyle, "she seems to be always around, and not with Potter or Weasley."_

_Draco smirked. "I must say, I'm very, very amused."_

"_At what?" asked Crabbe stupidly._

"_At how my charm reaches out to girls of all Houses," replied Draco silkily, grinning. Hermione did not dare look up from her book and was staring at the same page for a while now._

"_What? Granger fancies you?" cried Goyle._

"_So that was for real? In Potions?" exclaimed Crabbe, "wicked!"_

_Goyle laughed. "Man, just think what her little Gryffindor friends would say! Dump her good, Draco, and humiliate that dirty little Mudblood-"_

"_Can you just shut up?" snapped Draco, fed up. _

"_Why?" asked Crabbe. _

_Draco did not answer, and Goyle's jaw dropped. "You fancy her, too?"_

"_I didn't say that," Draco snapped again indignantly. But she looked pretty cute. Pretty darn cute. _

**A/N: **Please leave a review! Nice long reviews motivate me to write more. :) Thank you! -juicyfruits


	7. First Flashback

**A/N: **Thank you for all the great reviews! Somebody pointed out to me that this wouldn't be too bad as the rating "T," so I've changed it. Recommend to friends, please! :)

::First Flashback::

"You did not have to hit me," groaned Draco, clutching his nose. Watterson was helping him apply some sort of ointment on it.

"You did not have to lunge at me like that," mumbled Hermione, her face red. She hadn't really meant to hit him, but her basic instincts(?) had told her to do so. She felt a little bad as she saw him suffer like that. "Does it hurt a lot?" she asked cautiously.

Draco smirked. "Wanna kiss it and make it all better?"

"I'm supposed to be the younger and immature one, as you always say," Hermione said sarcastically, but she could not help but feel warmness return to her cheeks as he mentioned the word 'kiss'. As she watched him apply the medicine on his nose, Hermione felt a bit faint. Maybe it was the strong citrus scent of the ointment that made her feel a bit dizzy...then...

"_Oh my Merlin, are you alright?" cried Hermione, gasping._

"_I'm fine," muttered Draco. He was clutching his right hand, which was badly bruised. The lift had somehow malfunctioned and had shut its door on his hand, and now the two of them sat in the elevator, not knowing what to do as it stayed stuck between the third and the fourth floor of Mr. And Mrs. Granger's apartment._

_Hermione was miserable. "It's all my fault," she cried. "It was a stupid idea to come here."_

"_Well, I was going to see your parents one way or another," Draco replied. He hissed as the pain stung his hand once more. "Don't you have that thing you always carry around? For simple injuries?"_

"_Oh, yes! I do!" cried Hermione, leaping for her purse. She took out a small bottle of orange-colored ointment and opened it. Sweet citrus smell filled the elevator as she applied the medicine on to his bruised hand. She smiled in relief as she observed his face turn calmer. _

"_That's so much better," he sighed. He got up. "Alright. Now what?"_

"_We're pretty much stuck," muttered Hermione, "is there a spell...I can't think right now..."_

"_Hey, it's gonna be alright, okay?" Draco said comfortingly, helping her up. He held her close as he began to think fast about what spell to use. Then, Hermione began to laugh._

"_What's so funny?" he asked, confused._

"_Well...it's just that couples get stuck in lifts in movies and television shows, and they..." she trailed off, her face pink._

"_They what?" he pressed on, more interested than ever. He could pretty much guess what she was thinking by the color of her cheeks, however. He laughed and kissed her on her lips, and she kissed back, and then..._

"Is she okay?" asked Draco's voice urgently.

"I do believe she just fainted, sire," was the butler's reply. Hermione fluttered her eyes open.

"Huh?" she said.

"Oh, Hermione!" cried Draco, "are you okay?"

"What happened?" she asked, confused.

"You fainted."

"Oh."

She realized right away that Draco had not been swindled, after all. But whether or not she wanted to admit this to him, she wasn't too sure.

Why had she been so sick and worried when Malfoy hurt his hand? And...kiss him? But now she had to admit...he was a good kisser...

ooo

"Mr. Watterson? Where are you going?" asked Hermione. She had never seen the butler leave the house, and now that he was heading for the door, the curiosity got the better of her.

"We're out of a few items, ma'am. I will be going to Diagon Alley to do some shopping," he replied gracefully.

"Oh, I'll go with you!" called Hermione, jumping off the couch.

"Very well, ma'am," said Watterson, and together they headed out.

ooo

"It sure is hot out here today," said Hermione, walking in the streets of Diagon Alley, "do you ever change out of that butler suit?"

"I am perfectly fine, ma'am," said Watterson. While he bought some vegetables, she took a look around. She had been there only a day ago, but she was always happy to be there.

"Hermione!"

She turned. The boys she had met yesterday were running towards her. Jeremy in particular looked exceptionally glad to see her, for some reason.

"What a pleasant surprise!" he cried.

"It's a surprise alright," snickered Charlie, "we were waiting here since-"

"-shut up, Charlie," said Jeremy, glaring at his friend before turning back to Hermione with a smile on his face. "How are you, Hermione?"

"I'm good," she replied, "just out shopping. You?"

"I...had to pick up some stuff," said Jeremy, red-faced. He didn't have anything in his hands, however.

"Yup. We're pickin' up," snickered Charlie.

Girls' voices echoed from down the street. "Jeremy! Jeremy!" Two teenage girls were running towards them, apparently looking very excited. Jeremy sighed indignantly. Charlie waved at the girls.

They were similar in height, but one was fit while the other was downright too skinny. The skinnier one had short black hair with bangs and was dressed in a blue tank top and jeans. She had a pointy nose and a rather large mouth, which she used now to give Jeremy a big smile.

The other girl was, no doubt, much prettier than her. She had long blond hair that was slightly curly, big blue eyes, and was dressed in a layered top and short jeans. She was also nicely tanned. "Hi, Jeremy," she said breathlessly, as she had been running.

"Hi, Pia," said Jeremy, uninterested. He even seemed annoyed as he nodded at the skinnier girl. "Hi, Leanne."

"_Hi,_ Jeremy," giggled Leanne, her voice highly flirtatious. She was winking and kept on touching Jeremy's arm, and he looked embarrassed.

"Who is this?" asked Pia. Her voice was a bit demanding as she nudged her head at Hermione.

"This is Hermione," said Jeremy. "Hermione, these are my friends from school. Pia Reynolds and Leanne Valenzuela."

"Pleasure to meet you," said Hermione, smiling at the girls. The girls didn't smile back.

"How old are you?" asked Leanne.

"She's twenty-five," replied Charlie for her, and Leanne smirked and Pia did a small sigh of relief that sounded almost like a scoff.

"Hey, Jeremy, do you wanna come and get ice-cream with us?" asked Pia sweetly, completely ignoring Hermione.

"Do you want to come, Hermione?" asked Jeremy, with a hint of hope in his voice.

"No, you guys go and have fun. I have to get back." She threw a glance at where Mr. Watterson was gracefully trying to haggle down the price of fresh pumpkin juice. "I'll see you around!"

"Wait!" called Jeremy. Hermione turned. "Could I...have your number? Or owl address..."

Hermione shrugged and wrote down the Malfoy Manor phone number on a piece of parchment he handed her. She didn't notice the girls gawking in horror or Jeremy smiling delightedly as he safely put the parchment in his pocket.

ooo

Draco arrived home a few minutes after Hermione and Mr. Watterson got back.

"Did you remember anything?" was the first thing he said as soon as he laid his eyes on Hermione.

She blushed as she remembered the flashback to the elevator, but she shook her head no. He sighed. "I guess...hmm...maybe we could go to America-"

"-why?" asked Hermione, confused.

"We went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon," he explained, "good memories were made there." He smirked. "So...wanna go?"

Hermione had always wanted to visit America, but it was a bit sudden. "Huh?"

"We could go this weekend, if you want," Draco said, sitting down on the couch. "I can book it right now."

"Well, I don't know..."

ooo

Jeremy lay in his bed, clutching onto a piece of parchment. It bugged him that he had told her he was in seventh year. Technically, he graduated about a month ago. What if she thinks of him as a child? He's an adult now. He doesn't go to Hogwarts. Maybe that would be a good thing to call about. Hmm...

No, it was too weak. What could he call about?

The phone rang. He picked it up eagerly even though he remembered that he hadn't given her his number.

"Hello?" he said as huskily as possible.

"Hi, Jeremy," said Pia's voice.

"Oh, hi, Pia," he said, disappointed. She caught that.

"You don't sound too happy to hear from me," said Pia, "what's up?"

"Nothing. What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"I was just wondering if you want to hang out tomorrow," she said.

"Is Charlie in?"

"Um, no..." she said slowly, "and before you ask, neither is Leanne."

"Is T.J coming then?" he asked.

"No, no...I meant, just the two of us," she explained, growing a bit exasperated.

_Oh._

"Like...on a date?" he asked slowly.

She laughed a little. "Something like that."

There was a bit of silence.

"Look, Pia...I'm not interested," he said.

Some stunned silence.

"Oh."

"Yeah...sorry." The parchment Hermione had given him...he looked down at it lovingly.

"So...you like someone else?" she asked bravely.

"Um...I don't really feel like talking about it."

"Alright, then," said Pia, "I'll...see you later."

"Alright, Pia," he said. After she had hung up he hung up as well. He had pretty much guessed Pia liked him, and he had thought she was rather attractive before, with the blond hair and everything, she only looked like a child to him now. Charlie had told him he was crazy, but he didn't care. His heart was devoted to another person, and she was a woman, not a girl.

"It's just that I'm not man enough to call her up yet," he muttered.

ooo

"Let's go," Draco said, taking a little ornate book from the table and flipping through it. "I'm sure I have the booking number here somewhere..."

The moment his hand touched the telephone, it rang. He picked it up.

"Hello?" he said. "Oh, hi, Nana!"

Hermione froze. The Big M had called.

"We're doing fine, of course. Oh, no, she's right here," he said. He handed the phone to Hermione, who frantically shook her head no. She reluctantly took it, glaring at his gleeful face.

"Hello?"

"Hermione!" said Big M, "how are you, dear?"

"I'm great," she replied nervously.

"Any signs?"

"Uh..."

"Is she asking for _signs_?" asked Draco, enjoying this situation tremendously.

"Well?" Big M pressed on.

"Not yet," Hermione muttered.

Draco fell back laughing. "_Yet?_" Gasping for air he pressed the speaker button so he could hear the conversation as well.

"What do you mean, not yet? Have you worked on it a lot lately?" rang Big M's voice, loud and clear.

Draco stifled his laughter by putting a fist in his mouth.

"Well..." said Hermione, glaring at him.

"We've been working on it, Nana," he called out after controlling his laughter, "we work on it day and night. In fact, you just interrupted us in the middle of it."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Hey!" she cried, aghast.

"No worry to be embarrassed, my dear," came Big M's voice, which was now much more pleasant, "go on and get back to it. I will call back later." And with that she hung up.

"Shall we get back to it, Hermione?" smirked Draco. Hermione gave him a sharp glare.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped, "I can't believe you did that!"

"Did what? You?" he droned.

"What?" she said, confused.

"You." he said, smirking.

"Me? Do I what?"

"Nevermind," laughed Draco. "Keep doing that. I think it's cute."

ooo

_She took a deep breath. She had to admit it. She was falling for him- no, she had already fallen for him – and there was nothing she could do to avoid that feeling. _

_Never in her life did she ever think she would confess attraction to Draco Malfoy. But she had to do it, or the tension would kill her. Perhaps he would just turn her down – what was she thinking, of course he'll turn her down – and she'd just give up. Or...maybe he wouldn't turn her down. It was he who kissed her...and he did that twice. _

_The doors of the Great hall opened. Malfoy, closely followed by Goyle and Crabbe. How she resented those two! She walked up bravely nevertheless. _

"_Granger," nodded Malfoy, his tone amused. Goyle and Crabbe stared at each other, their expressions confused, frustrated, and amused all at once. _

"_Malfoy," she nodded. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"_

"_...sure," he said finally. He nudged at his friends to go on ahead, and he walked out of the hall, followed by Hermione. She had resented this kind of arrogant air he carried around him, but- perhaps she was under a spell or something – she could not help but admire it now._

"_What is it?" he asked when they got to an isolated corner. _

"_Well..." she said, staring down at her shoes, "I..."_

_He didn't press her to go on. He remained silent. She shut her eyes._

"_I don't know what you did...because I hated you..." she began. Her cheeks were unbearably hot. "I...like you."_

"_You do?" he said, his voice calm._

"_I...it's like you made me yours..." she suddenly felt a bit irritated. "This better not be one of your stupid tricks, Malfoy."_

_He laughed._

"_I didn't do anything," he said, chuckling. _

"_This isn't funny!" she snapped. Somehow, this confession wasn't how she expected it to be. He found it funny. She felt embarrassed. This was a stupid idea. Oh Merlin..._

_She felt his fingers on her chin and looked up. He was impossibly close, and he was leaning down. His lips pressed against hers, but not for very long. He pulled away almost instantly._

"_See you around, kiddo," he winked. "Work on the kissing bit and I might consider it."_

_Then he walked off, leaving Hermione dazed._


	8. Let's Go to Vegas

**A/N: Okay, so some of you are grossed out by Jeremy. But please, that was not my intention. Think of him as a little boy with a crush on his teacher sort of a thing. I tried to depict his feelings as innocent affection but apparently I wasn't very effective in doing that. Haha! Well, don't worry, this fic is strictly a Dramione. Enjoy!**

::Let's Go to Vegas::

"So we went to Vegas for honeymoon?" asked Hermione, folding her blouse and carefully laying it in her suitcase.

Draco nodded. "You wanted to go. But we didn't do much."

"Why not?" cried Hermione, disappointed, "how about all the shows? A tour, maybe? Did we gamble or something?"

"No, no, and no," grinned Draco, "you're fforgetting that we were newly wed. We did have all those plans, but when we got to the hotel-"

Hermione plugged her ears. "Stop, stop, I don't want to hear it!" she yelled. Draco smirked.

They were packing in the bedroom (as most of Hermione's clothes were there anyway), she sitting on the bed and Draco near the drawers. There wasn't much to pack as they were only going to be in Vegas for the weekend. Draco lazily opened one of the drawers and pulled up something.

"Aren't you forgetting to pack these, baby?" he said with a smirk. Hermione looked up to see him holding up a lacy black bra.

"You're sick," she spat.

"What, you're not packing undergarments?" he asked innocently, digging up a matching thong, "I mean, I'm fine with that, it saves lots of time-"

"Shut up," Hermione mumbled, her face red.

ooo

Draco held up his wand to make their luggage float as they walked down the stairs to Apparate to Nevada, U.S.A. Suddenly, the phone rang.

Mr. Watterson, who was too professional to show happiness that he was free to do whatever he wished for the weekend, glided over to the phone to answer it.

"Malfoy Manor," he said softly. "Yes, yes. And you are? Very well." He cupped the receiver. "Ma'am, it's for you."

"Who is it?" asked Hermione and Draco at the same time.

"It's a young man by the name of Jeremy Hanes," replied the butler.

"Who the hell is Jeremy Hanes?" said Draco sharply.

"A friend of mine," shrugged Hermione, heading toward the phone. She took it from Mr. Watterson. "Hello?"

"Hi, Hermione," came Jeremy's voice. "Who was that?"

"Oh, our butler, Mr. Watterson," she replied. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to know how you were," Jeremy said, "oh, by the way, I graduated from Hogwarts in June."

Hermione didn't quite know how to reply to the rather random statement. "Okay," she said after a silence during which Jeremy twisted in embarrassment.

Draco began tapping his shoes.

"Look, I gotta go," said Hermione, glaring at Draco, "I'm going to Las Vegas."

"Oh, really?" cried Jeremy, "with who?"

"My-" she spat the word out, "-husband."

There was a bit of silence.

"You...are married?" croaked Jeremy at last.

"Yeah. To a Slytherin," Hermione was somehow back to the Hogwarts-House way of thinking.

"You're talking about me?" demanded Draco, "who is this bloke?"

"A _Slytherin_?" cried Jeremy.

"Yeah. I can't believe it, either. Hey, I've got to go now; talk to you later!" Hermione hung up and rolled her eyes at Draco, who had his hands on his hips. "Happy now?"

"How do you know this dude and why is he calling my home?" Draco demanded authoritively.

"He's just a boy I met at Diagon Alley," Hermione said, "besides, he's like eighteen- _oh dear_." A sudden realization washed over her.

"Dear what?" Draco pressed on.

She shook her head. "I must be really stupid," she sighed, "why didn't I know...?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing. Let's go," said Hermione. Jeremy and _liked_ the twenty-five year old Hermione. Of course, she was younger than him inside, but it still wasn't expected. Weird...she liked Ron.

Oh, Ron! She suddenly missed his warm smile and big arms. But when she turned, it was only Draco, looking a bit irritated. Then she realized something. He was pretty good looking...but no, he's Malfoy.

Since when did she have so many boys in her life? Married to one, liking another, and yet another boy liked her. Why couldn't it all be one person? Loving, being loved by, and married to Ron...she sighed. A little sweet home, the two of them sitting in a sofa...

"Hello? Earth to Hermione!" called Draco. Hermione woke from her daydream. "Did you have a flashback or something?"

"No," scowled Hermione, a little annoyed.

ooo

They Apparated to the front of a large, fancy hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hermione felt a bit dazed, as being Apparated by someone else was not very comfortable. Draco let their luggage fall on the floor and glanced at his watch, which whirled to adjust to current time.

"It's six in the evening," he announced. "I already made a reservation..."

She glanced at the hotel. It was a beautifully structured building, and the words, "The WizVegas" shone at the top.

"It's a hotel for witches and wizards," he said slowly at Hermione's confused expression, "there are about five in Vegas, all invisible and inaccessible to Muggles. We came to this one for our honeymoon."

Hermione nodded. Two women opened the door for them and the entered.

"_Oh, it's beautiful!" cried Hermione in awe. The interior was so brightly-lit and ornate that it seemed to take her breath away. Delicate ice statues were at every corner and from the ceiling golden stars zoomed about, illuminating the lobby. _

"_Glad you like it," smiled Draco, receiving their key cards from a goblin at the front desk. He glanced down at it. "We're at the top floor," he said. "We should have a nice view."_

"_This is a nice view enough," sighed Hermione, staring all around her._

"_It's a nice view from here, too," droned Draco playfully, putting his arms around her with his eyes fixed on her. She laughed and kissed him on his cheek._

"Hermione! Hermione!"

She shook her head awake. She was surrounded in the same ornate room.

"You seem to be getting a lot of these moments today," observed Draco, "did you remember anything?"

She decided this one wasn't that embarrassing to disclose as long as she censored the ridiculous conversation.

"Yeah. I remember coming here," she said.

He looked as if he won the lottery. "Anything else?" he asked eagerly.

"No," she replied.

He smirked. "No worries. Once we go upstairs into our room-"

"-uh huh. That's gonna happen," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

ooo

The couple did not bother to unpack. He threw the bags onto the carpeted floor and tried to lift up Hermione like men do in movies, but she didn't even see him; she was rushing toward the window to marvel at the view outside.

"Where should we go?" asked Hermione excitedly. "Oh, can we please go see the shows? They have so many different things-"

"-look, Hermione, we didn't go see those things when we were here, and I don't see how that could help with getting back your memory," said Draco. However, when she turned and stared at him with puppy-dog eyes, what he said erased out of his head.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" he asked.

"What?" she asked innocently. "We can't go?"

"I mean, I suppose-"

"-oh, thank you, thank you!" cried Hermione. She threw her arms around him, giving him a hug. This was Hermione's first voluntary movement toward him since the memory loss, and he was a bit taken aback as her body ran into his.

"Okay, we can go," said Draco at last. Who could resist this cute charm of a wife?

ooo

"She's MARRIED?" cried Charlie, "DUDE!"

"Dude, I know," said Jeremy bitterly.

"Wow, talk about off-limits," sighed Charlie. The two boys were playing Muggle video games at Charlie's house. Charlie's parents and older brother were Muggles, and there were a lot of game CDs scattered about.

"And you turned down Pia Reynolds for a married chick," Charlie said, "you're whack."

"I don't know, I still..."

Charlie jumped. "You still like her?" he asked, aghast.

"Her husband is a Slytherin, and she even said she can't believe she's married to him," Jeremy explained.

"I don't know, I like young chicks," said Charlie, shrugging. He pressed down on the game controller and killed a zombie. "See those zombies? Yeah. Old chicks. I like young ones. Look, there she comes."

On the television screen, as Charlie's character finished off the zombies, a gorgeous young woman in dark brown hair walked in, dressed in a skimpy fantasy costume. She leaned and gave Charlie's character a kiss of victory.

"She doesn't look like a teenager," scowled Jeremy. In fact, she looked a bit like Hermione.

"If you don't take Pia, I'll take her," Charlie shrugged. "She's _hawt_."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Look, dude," said Charlie, relentless, "she's older than you, _and_ she's married. You gotta get out of this!"

"There just is something about her that's _young_, you know?" Jeremy sounded exasperated. "Something innocent and pure and adorable-"

"Ew," an older guy that slightly resembled Charlie said as he walked in. He was a good-looking, nicely-dressed guy who looked only about a year older than Charlie. "Is that how you wizard-people talk? That's completely _archaic._"

"What kind of a guy says _ew_?" Charlie snapped back playfully, "that's totally _gay_."

The older boy grinned and then rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "_Whatever_," he said before exiting the room.

"You and your brother never cease to amuse me," muttered Jeremy.

"You should see his boyfriend," said Charlie, shrugging, "he's freaking hilarious."

ooo

_She wasn't too sure how she was supposed to act now. He hadn't exactly turned her down...but he hasn't exactly asked her out, either. She didn't know if she had to bump into him more, or if it was better to lay low. However, at Hogwarts, it was hard _not_ to bump into people, especially if you are planning on _not_ bumping into people._

_One good thing, of course, was that she never saw him with that ugly Pansy Parkinson. Actually, he didn't hang out with her even before Hermione's painfully awkward confession. Now that she admitted to liking him, anything could happen. She just wished he wouldn't embarrass her._

"_I'm seeing quite a lot of you lately, Granger."_

_Hermione looked up from counting her steps. He was right in front of her, a smirk on his lips. He was alone; neither Crabbe nor Golye was there to intimidate her further._

"_Hello," she said, her face turning red._

"_And you're blushing quite a lot, too," he mused, "did you work on the kissing bit?" He had his hands in his pockets, in his usual casually arrogant manner._

"_Stop it," she said, looking down at her shoes. It seemed cruel to her. She looked up at his beautiful face. "Don't play around with people's feelings, got that, Malfoy? If you don't like-"_

"_-whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Malfoy, stopping her, "hold on there. I didn't say I didn't like you."_

_She softened at once, her heart beating fast. "What?"_

"_I mean, I'm not proposing here, but I didn't say I didn't like you," he said, looking a bit exasperated himself. It was quite unlike him. "You're the one who's playing around with people's feelings here, how dare you accuse me-"_

"_-what?" frowned Hermione. _

_He seemed at loss of what to say. Instead of replying, he grabbed her and pulled her closer, attacking her lips with his own. It was an eager kiss, a hungry one. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, and his tongue explored her mouth and his lips sucked on hers. Hermione felt faint- so faint that she didn't pull away. _

_It seemed as if few hours had passed. When he finally pulled away, both were panting for air. "Okay," he said at last. Was he blushing red? It looked as if he was trying to regain composure but failing miserably at it. "Yeah. You got much better," was what he managed to say._

"_Oh?" she said._

"_The kissing bit," he explained, still out of breath and not looking himself at all. She smiled a little, and he finally let himself smile a bit, too. _


	9. I Kissed a Showgirl

**A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews! :D Yes, the title of this chapter was inspired by "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, but it has nothing to do with the plot of the chapter. Enjoy and review!! **

::I Kissed a Showgirl::

The two emerged out of the hotel. It was beginning to get a bit dark outside, which only meant that the city was coming alive. More cars jammed the streets and lights blinked on everywhere, making buildings and other structures shine. With the dazzling light the city was waking up, and the couple was right on time to witness it.

Of course, only one of them thought they were a couple.

Draco put his arm casually around her shoulder, staring smugly at the city. Hermione, however, pulled his arm away right away.

"You hugged me," he pointed out, disappointed.

She smirked and grabbed his hand. "Let's go," she said cheerfully.

Why the hell was his heart beating so fast? She was his _wife_, for crying out loud! He shook his head in disbelief.

Hermione, on the other hand, was rather surprised at her own bold movement. She had rather been brave when she hugged him back in the hotel, too. Of course, he was Malfoy, the Slytherin, the ferret. But she had to admit, he seemed pretty..._charming_ sometimes. And god, his hand felt so nice in hers.

ooo

"Where are we going first?" asked Hermione, carefully stepping over a pile of palm-sized advertisements with girls in bikini printed on them. It was a common sight in Las Vegas, where one could simply pick up one of the small cards and call the number for "good time."

"Wherever you want to go," replied Draco slowly. He had one hand in his pocket and the other grasped her hand. And he didn't want to let go of it for all the money in the world (not that he _didn't_ have it,) and was forced to step over the pile of cards instead of walking over it in his usual manly manner.

She looked as if she wanted to clasp her hands together in delight, but he didn't let go and she gave up, giggling just a little bit. _Why was she doing that?_ She didn't quite know.

"Let's go watch a show," she suggested, "something with lots of special effects, the ones you see in movies when people go to Vegas."

"The type with lots of girls in the nude?" asked Draco.

She made a disgusted face at him. "They are _not_ in the nude."

"Almost," he smirked.

They saw a poster while passing a giant store, and they agreed that it was the kind of show Hermione was looking for.

"Looks like it is going to be pretty extravagant," said Hermione, observing the festive graphics.

"And lots of naked chicks," observed Draco, earning a smack on the arm from Hermione.

ooo

The curtain rose up. The crowd cheered. A woman brought Draco and Hermione drinks.

Music blasted from everywhere, and the lights began to make patterns against the stage. Women dressed in feathers and jewels marched out onto the stage.

"Nearly naked," said Draco.

She didn't hear him; she was mesmerized by the sight before her. The beautiful women twirled and danced, soared up to the ceiling and descended gracefully. Hermione did not know where to look, dazzled by it all.

After the festive, loud number, the dancers exited and different women, dressed in fiery red bikini tops and garters, entered. Some of them descended the steps from the stage to the audience and began picking out men to lead them up to the stage. One blond performer held her hand out at Draco.

"Oh?" he said, amused. He turned to Hermione as if asking for her okay.

"Go ahead," she said, excited to see what was to happen. He got up and went to the stage along with about four other young men.

The men stood on the stage, each accompanied by two female performers. They began their routine, wrapping their exposed legs around the men and hanging from their bodies. The audience laughed and clapped at the male guests' look of embarrassment and amusement.

Draco was, for sure, amused. He even helped the female performers make stage of his body, holding their backs and..._why was his face so goddamn close to that blond chick?_

Hermione held her breath. This was not what she signed up for – well, signed him up for – and a strange feeling erupted inside her. What was it? Indignation? No. Embarrassment? Big no. Maybe...no, it couldn't possibly be _jealousy_.

The routine was reaching its climax, with women wrapping their arms around the guests and dancing seductively. Each move looked more deviant than the one before. _Why is he smirking? _Hermione thought irritably.

Despite Hermione's continued efforts to hide her irritation, Draco was watching her all throughout the dance number. He could almost sing in joy as he observed her slightly confused, frustrated look. And when the song ended and the dancers bowed, he grabbed the blond dancer and planted a wet kiss on her pouted lips. The woman kissed back, much to his amusement and surprise.

"Oh!" cried Hermione, her fists landing on the table as she got up suddenly. Guests around her stared, startled. Draco pretended as if he did not notice as he answered to the cheers of the audience. He walked back to his table and seated himself once more.

"That was fun, yeah?" he said casually, picking up his drink.

She did not answer him as she sat down.

ooo

"Here's what I say we do," suggested Charlie, leaning back in his sofa, "I call up Pia and Leanne, maybe even T.J. We go to the new mall in Akenia Alley and hang out, I help you get Pia back."

"I don't even _like_ Pia," said Jeremy. The two friends were sitting in Charlie's living room, resting from hours of video games.

"You need to give her a chance, man," said Charlie.

The door opened, and two boys entered the room. One was Charlie's older brother, Nathan, and the other was a shorter yet still good-looking boy.

"He's staying over," Nathan told Charlie, pointing at his company.

"So is he," said Charlie, pointing at Jeremy. "Not in the same way, though."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "That's a stereotype," he said.

"Stereotype of what?" asked Jeremy innocently. "Oh, by the way, try to keep it down at night-"

"-Charlie!" cried the other boy, laughing. "You are so bad. Oh, and who's this?"

Jeremy got up. "I'm Jeremy. Charlie's friend. And you are...?"

"I'm Ben, Nathan's friend," he replied. He smiled radiantly at Jeremy then turned to Nathan. "You were right. He _is_ good-looking."

"Ben!" cried Nathan, aghast. However, he wasn't as stunned as Jeremy was.

"So tall and handsome. Look at those muscles," Ben chattered on, "you must work out a lot, huh?"

Charlie got up, his hands on his hips. "Are you hitting on my friend right now?" he demanded playfully, "in front of my brother?"

"Psh, I don't go for straight boys," said Ben. "Wait, you're straight, right?"

"Yeah, definitely," said Jeremy quickly, suddenly relieved.

"Must be quite the ladies' man," Ben observed.

Charlie jumped in the conversation. "Actually, he kind of was. He dated lots of hot girls and even more girls sent him letters and stuff. But recently he turned into a spineless prick hitting on housewives."

"Dude!" cried Jeremy, his face bright red.

"Aw, so you're in love with someone you can't have," said Ben sympathetically. "I used to be like that too. I liked this guy but he was, like, straight, you know?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Here we go again!" he cried, "if you like him so much, why don't you just go and beg him to turn gay?"

"Alright, alright," said Charlie, "enough gay-talking. Go into your room and leave us straight men alone."

Nathan scoffed at the word _men _before going away to his room with Ben.

"That was really weird," muttered Jeremy, sinking back to his sofa.

"I know," observed Charlie, "I can't believe Ben hit on you. Even _guys_ are after you and you're going after some old lady?" He flinched at Jeremy's death glare before correcting himself. "Okay, she's not _that _old, and I admit, she's really hot, but if she's married..."

"I don't know," Jeremy groaned. "Do what you want. Call Pia if you want."

ooo

"You haven't said anything for the past five shows," said Draco. It was the intermission, and Hermione was sitting silently at the table sipping her drink. It had to be a bit alcoholic, but it tasted good and she just didn't care.

"What's wrong?" he asked, even though he knew.

Then, something even he had not anticipated happened. The blond woman he had kissed was approaching the table from behind Hermione, smiling at Draco. This was pushing it a bit far.

Hermione evidently noticed his eyes getting wide at seeing over her shoulder, and when she tried to turn to see what it was, he quickly spoke.

"Er, Hermione!" he said sharply.

She turned and stared at him as if to say, 'why?'.

"I will be right back," he said, getting up. He walked over and turned to the hallway leading to the restroom, knowing that the blond performer was following him. When he was sure Hermione couldn't see where he was, he turned.

"Hey, there," said the woman. She was still in the costume she wore for the last act: sparkling black mini dress and boots.

"Hi," he replied.

"That was the best kiss I received in my whole entire life," she breathed, leaning closer to him.

_Why did he have to be such a great kisser?_

"Thanks," he said slowly. "Look-"

Before he could explain himself, her lips attacked his again. He pushed her back promptly, nearly slamming her against the wall.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. I'm married."

"That's okay," she breathed, trying to embrace him again. He pushed her back once more.

"I'm serious."

"Then why did you kiss me?" she asked.

"Just a friendly kiss," he explained hastily.

"Didn't seem like it," she breathed, pulling herself closer to him. He pushed her back again, this time firmly.

"I did it to make my wife jealous, okay?" he said, getting annoyed.

"That doesn't even make sense!" cried the blond.

"Yeah it does, in my case," he said crossly, "now let me go. Seriously. I thought you were a showgirl, not a hooker!"

He walked briskly away. When he turned the corner to get back to the tables, he almost ran into...Hermione.

She was leaning against the wall, her head down. She had one hand over her mouth, as if hiding a smile or even a chuckle. Her eyes were a little bit red, as if she was going to cry but later decided against it. He felt as if all of his blood rushed to his face.

"You heard...me?" he said.

She nodded and let out a little girly giggle. He groaned.

"You were trying to make me _jealous_?" she finally asked.

He shove his hands in his pockets. Why was he so embarrassed? Why did he even do that? He was an adult, a respectable one at that, and yet he felt like a lovestruck teen, one even he himself hadn't been, at least outwardly. "Did it work?" he asked quietly, grinning a bit despite himself.

"No way," she lied, "I didn't mind at all."

"Oh?" he said, "then should I go back and snog that-"

"-never mind!" cried Hermione. He laughed, and she smacked him on his arm before walking off to their table, her face red but with a small grin.

ooo

_She had never had this type of a relationship, and she didn't know anyone who had this kind of a relationship. She liked Malfoy, and she was now sure that he liked her back, but neither ever admitted it to his or her friends. But when their eyes met she could not help but get a goofy grin on her face, and he couldn't help but chuckle silently at her goofy grin. And when Snape assigned them as partners for potions class, the number of such instances more than doubled._

"_Stop that," said Draco quietly, stirring the water._

"_What?" Hermione jumped._

"_The goofy grin thing," he pointed out quietly, not taking his eyes off the opened book, "people are going to think you lost it."_

_She grinned shyly, but she only felt goofier. _

"_Stop staring at me," he advised._

"_Why?" she asked, a bit hurt._

"_Because I might want to look at you," he said, sounding a bit annoyed._

"_And what' wrong with that?" she asked bravely, ignoring Ron and Harry's sympathetic stares from across the room. (They pitied her for having to work with Malfoy.)_

"_Because," he said, focusing hard on the book, "if I look at you, I'm going to have to kiss you, and I don't know how I might clean up the drama after."_

_This was the most affectionate thing he had said to her to this day, and she felt as if she was going to faint. He had not really said anything on how he felt about her, and it had been making her feel a little bit anxious._

"_Really?" she asked softly. _

"_Stop talking," he said, irritated. "Until I can figure out a good clean solution for you, you're on probation."_

"_What am I, a problem?" cried Hermione, a little bit too loudly._

"_Granger!" cried Snape, "what on earth is the problem?"_

"_You heard her, Professor Snape," said Draco in a drone, "she's arguing with me."_

"_Five points from Gryffindor," mumbled Snape. Hermione sighed._

_When Snape passed them to critique Nevile's work, Draco spoke quietly. "Yes, you are a problem. A big one, too. If I leave it blank and ignore it, I know I'm going to fail. But the solving is really difficult. Actually, it might be even impossible."_

"_Oh." Her heart sank._

"_Yeah. In that case, I'm just going to have to guess and put down an answer," he said, "but there's a guessing penalty."_

"_You make me sound like an O.W.L. Exam," muttered Hermione. _

_He smiled, but his eyes were fixed on the dried goat liver he was slicing. "I still want to try and solve this question, but if I can't figure it out, I'll just guess."_

"_Sounds like a plan," she said, "so...I'm on probation?"_

_He nodded and grinned a bit. "Yes. So try not to look so goddamn gorgeous." _


	10. What Happens in Vegas

**A/N: Hey guys, here's my explanation for not updating often enough: I'd really like to update more often, but I'm currently getting ready to transfer to a different university and consequently am very busy. :( I hope you guys understand! But remember that I will NEVER abandon a story; if I don't update for a while just keep that story alert on because I AM updating. Thanks for understanding! - juicyfruits**

::What Happens in Vegas::

The show ended around eight-thirty. It was bright outside, however, as was the case with Vegas. Brilliant lights brightened the busy city.

"Oh! Look at that!" cried Hermione, pointing at a large casino with red and yellow lights moving constantly. "That's beautiful!"

"What, you want to gamble?" asked Draco.

She opened her mouth to say she couldn't, then she remember her age. "Oh...I might want to try it, but you know how it's very addictive..."

"Let's go," he said, taking her by her hand, "I have plenty of Muggle dollars."

ooo

"How do you know the rules of Muggle blackjack so well?" whispered Hermione to Draco's ear. They were seated at a blackjack table, and Draco had raked in at least thrice the amount he put in. He closed his eyes as if pleasured by the sound of her voice so close to him.

"Hey, missy, there is no _cheating_ allowed," sneered a disgruntled man. He was a portly little guy who lost over five hundred dollars worth of chips.

"Talking like that to my wife is not allowed, either," said Draco coldly. The man flinched at his penetrating stare and apologized in a small voice.

"It's fine, sir," said Hermione primly. She turned to the dealer. "Hit me."

"Hit me," said Draco quietly. He took the card and put both of his cards down. "Blackjack." After claiming his award he gave a large tip to the dealer, who smiled politely.

Hermione ended up losing about a hundred dollars, but Draco earned about nine-hundred dollars. They went to the register and received their money in bills.

"This is so useless," sighed Draco, handing the money to Hermione. "You know what? We still didn't eat dinner."

Hermione suddenly realized how hungry she was. "What time is it?" Casinos rarely had clocks available to large; it was more profitable to let people play without a sense of time.

"It's nine-thirty, ma'am," said the woman at the register.

"Whoa," said Hermione. "Let's get something to eat."

ooo

After dinner the tired couple returned to their hotel room. The view was even more beautiful now, with lights adorning the darkness.

Hermione opened up her bag to get out some clothes.

"So you wanna shower first?" droned Draco, his tone playful and suggestive.

She didn't even look up. "Yeah," she replied. "You wanna do it first? I can wait."

"If you insist we _do it first_, I completely understand," he continued.

She rolled her eyes as she pulled out her toothbrush. "See ya later." She walked right past him and entered the bathroom.

"So close," muttered Draco, chuckling.

"Nope!" called Hermione.

ooo

Hermione let the warm water wash over her face. It felt nice. Steam began to obscure the glass...then she felt dizzy.

_Must be the sudden warmth or something_, she thought. _Wait_...

_Her lips were locked with Draco's, and her arms were around his neck. The water poured over them both. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and she felt the warmness of the water and of him...she sucked gently on his lower lip..._

ooo

"Hermione! It's been an hour!"

No answer.

"Hermione, you all right?"

No answer.

"Alohomora!"

Draco quickly opened the door. It was extremely foggy inside the bathroom, and the warm water was pouring endlessly.

"Hermione?"

She lay in the bathtub, exposed and unconscious.

ooo

A sharp pain penetrated through her temples. "Oww," she groaned, her eyes opening. Someone quickly rushed over to her side.

"Hermione!" cried Draco. "Are you alright?"

She groaned in pain. "I guess...what happened?"

"You fell in the bathtub and fainted," he explained.

"That sounds a lot like me," groaned Hermione, rubbing her head.

"Did you remember anything? How old are you?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," she muttered. He sighed in disappointment. She was clearly still sixteen.

Her cheeks reddened as she _did_ remember something. Shower with _Malfoy_? That was downright disgusting. Inappropriate. Just wrong.

Then, a thought struck her. "Wait...if I fainted in the bathtub..." She quickly lifted up the covers of the bed and looked under. Nothing.

Draco was, conveniently enough, leaning toward her. Fastening the cover with her left hand, she threw a punch at his face with her right. He caught it in his hand, smirking.

"So you wanna play Hogwarts?" he said playfully. "Don't even think about it, _Granger_. How _dare_ you try that."

Her face turned red.

He continued on with his egotistic, proud tone she was so familiar with: "_I know _what you are thinking, but did you really think I'd touch your _unworthy_ body? No, not for a _million galleons_."

"Stop it," she grumbled.

He was grinning mischievously. "Sure, baby."

Hermione made a gagging noise, which he took as a prompt to continue his Hogwart-days-talk.

"I could lay any girl in this school, I don't have to touch a filthy girl like you."

"You thought I was filthy?" she asked, suddenly hurt.

He laughed. "Yeah. Dirty as hell," he replied suggestively. "Kinky."

This time when she threw the punch, he wasn't prepared. It hit him right on his face. He fell back, clutching it.

"Ow!" he cried, stumbled over on the carpet.

She suddenly grew a bit worried. "Malfoy? Does it hurt a lot?"

"Yes," Draco howled.

Concerned, Hermione held the cover over her tightly and carefully climbed off the bed. "Let me see," she said.

When he pulled his hand off his face, he was smirking. He quickly turned and pinned her to the floor, laying a wet kiss on her unsuspecting lips.

ooo

She felt dizzy. Her brain told her to push him away, but something else asked her: why? _Because __he's a Malfoy,_ she thought, but her tongue was in his mouth and she liked it. She had the blanket covering her but she felt completely exposed and hot. She felt breathless.

When he pulled away to breathe, she got a chance to breathe as well. She looked up at his flawless face and once again felt dizzy. She didn't like him, did she? She liked Ron...

He leaned in again to continue, but she gently pushed him off and carefully sat up, holding tightly to the blanket, her cheeks flushed in a shy manner. Surprisingly, he didn't argue.

"That was good progress," he said, slightly breathless but still calm.

Red-faced, Hermione nodded, looking extremely embarrassed.

"I'll go wash up, you get dressed," Draco muttered.

ooo

Who could blame him for grinning right now? He stared into the mirror at his face and grinned.

"Really, she couldn't resist _this_ for too long," he sighed quietly to himself, smirking at his own reflection in satisfaction. He never knew he'd feel so elated by a single willing kiss from his own wife.

Draco took off his shirt and stared at himself in the mirror again. Bless his dead father for inheriting him good looks!

ooo

_Hermione did not know what gave her the idea, but it seemed like a good one. It also seemed extremely risky, but the excitement from thinking about it kept her from forgetting about it._

_The first step was, of course, to get him alone._

_It was not that hard, as he stayed miles away from Parkinson lately, and he had been able to fend off Crabbe and Goyle rather easily. So when she spotted him walking, his hands in his pockets in deep though, down a hallway, she leaped at the chance._

"_Hey."_

_He looked up. Realizing who it was and after looking around, he smiled. "Hi."_

_She took him by his hand, and, to his amusement, began to lead him to where she had come from._

"_Where are we going?" he asked._

"_You will see," she replied._

_Soon she stopped. They stood in front of a large broom closet. She turned the knob slowly and opened it. He laughed softly and slid himself in after Hermione, closing the door behind him._

"_So...what do you want to do here?" he whispered in the darkness._

"_Well," Hermione began. "I had some ideas..."_


	11. Good While It Lasted

:: Good While It Lasted::

The next day was a flurry of sightseeing. Hermione marveled at the replicas of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, and Draco stood by, a hint of a smile on his lips.

She was being much more agreeable today. More than anything, she began to address him as "Draco," rather than "Malfoy." She did so with a hint of blush at her cheeks, which made him want to just grab her and make out. But he did not want to blow it.

"Oh, Draco! Let's take a picture here!"

He turned. She was smiling excitedly, a Muggle Polaroid amera in her hands. She was handing it to another couple on their honeymoon. She took Draco by his wrist and pulled him beside her, the bright day of Las Vegas as background. He smiled and held her close.

"Aw, come on!" cried the man who was taking the photo. "You can do better than that!" His newly-wed wife giggled beside him.

"Okay," said Hermione.

"One, two-"

-she tiptoed-

"-three!"

She planted a short, sweet kiss on Draco's cheek.

The couple laughed and gave the camera back to her. Hermione took the photo and examined as it began to develop. She shook it a little bit, and soon the image of them appeared. Draco took the photo and smiled.

"It's a good picture," Hermione said, smiling a little.

"I give it a G," said Draco suddenly.

"What? Lower than an F?" she asked, frowning.

"Next time, let's go for PG13," he smiled.

ooo

­When Hermione and Draco returned from Vegas, anyone could tell that they had changed. For one thing, Hermione had her arm in Draco's.

Mr. Watterson, who was waiting for them at the door, smiled politely.

"I presume you had a good time?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Hermione replied.

Mr. Watterson turned to Draco. "Did madame-"

"-no," said Draco quietly. "But we've seen some progress."

ooo

"That's the thing, Ginny! He's not as bad as I thought," Hermione chattered, lying on her belly on the big bed.

"I know, I know," came Ginny's reply over the phone. "We went through this exact conversation years ago, Hermione. _He's not that bad_ to _he's amazing_. Call me in a few days and you'll be head over the heels for him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Hermione turned on her side and whispered. "He's a really good kisser."

"Okay, okay, I know." Ginny laughed. "Oh, wait! I think I'm getting another call...no, that's on your end."

"Oh, it is. Alright, talk to you later!" said Hermione. She switched the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi."

"Draco?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't you in the other room?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Then why are you calling me?" she frowned.

"Because..." he thought about it. "I have no idea. I just wanted to hear your voice."

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Come over to the dining room, it's time for another bottle of these bottles."

"That disgusting-tasting thing?" frowned Hermione.

"Yep."

ooo

"I mean, I don't detest you anymore, do you still have to feed me that repulsive stuff?" asked Hermione.

"You don't detest me? That means the world to me," grinned Draco. He poured the potion into a goblet. "If you remember, you'll _love_ me."

"Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?" Hermione said, taking the cup. "Mr. Watterson, can you bring me some strawberry juice? I want to drink it right after I down this stuff."

Mr. Watterson nodded and gracefully glided away. Draco sat on the sofa and cupped his chin like an excited puppy, waiting for her to start drinking the potion.

"Fine, fine, fine," Hermione said. Putting the glass of strawberry juice Mr. Watterson brought beside her, she held her nose and let the potion slide into her mouth.

"Well?" Draco said as she put the goblet down and picked up the strawberry juice.

Then, something unexpected happened.

You see, she hadn't remembered _feelings_ before; it's such a hard thing to do. But this time, as she turned her gaze to him after putting down her empty glass, it was as if a cupid had shot an arrow at her heart. It began to thump madly.

"Um," Hermione said. "No, not really..." _Why was her cheeks getting red?_

"Why are your cheeks getting red?" asked Draco, grinning madly, "did you remember something embarrassing? It's okay, you can share it..."

"No, it's not that," said Hermione again. "Um...I gotta go."

"Gotta go where?" asked Draco, confused.

"Upstairs."

"Huh."

_Why did he suddenly look so much more handsome than before, so much more lovable than before? _

ooo

Hermione lay in bed, her eyes wide open. Her heart was still beating like mad, making her feel even a bit nauseous. This was weird. Didn't she like Ron? Well, she still did. But what was this feeling, this hot, excited sensation?

Could it be love?

She clenched her eyes shut. No, it couldn't possibly be it. No. No way.

She found herself thinking back to all those times when he had kissed her. Her cheeks burned at the thought, as it only seemed more fantastic now than before. Couldn't he kiss her now, maybe? If she went downstairs? Hermione suddenly felt as if she was the luckiest girl in the world, to have as a husband Draco Malfoy himself...

"What am I thinking?" she cried.

A knock came.

"Hermione?"

His voice alone made her heart begin to beat fast. She sat up. "Yes?" she called.

Draco slowly opened the door, looking a bit puzzled. She sat up straight on the bed, quickly wondering how she looked.

"Hi," she said sheepishly.

"Uh, hi," he replied. "Did you remember anything?"

"No..." she said. In a side glance she saw their wedding picture, in which they were kissing. She blushed at the thought.

"You're acting a bit weird," said Draco, frowning.

"Oh, am I?" she asked, embarrassed.

He slowly made his way to the bed and sat beside her. He put his hand on his forehead, and her heart did a back flip at his touch. "You're a bit feverish," he announced. "Let me take your pulse." His hands reached for hers, and he put his fingers on her wrist. "Whoa, your heart's beating really fast, too! Are you sure you're okay?"

"I-I'm fine," said Hermione.

"No, maybe it's an allergic reaction, it's like the cold or something," he sounded sincerely concerned, and she felt nearly dizzy. She was looking into his beautiful eyes, and...

ooo

"It's that a fraction of past feelings erupted back," explained Madame Fitzer over the phone, "completely expected. It's good news. But it'll go away soon."

"It already did," grumbled Draco.

"Aw, don't worry, sir, it'll come on and off," said Madame Fitzer good-heartedly.

"Thank you, Madame Fitzer." He put down the telephone. Hermione was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and her face as red as a tomato.

"Well," said Draco slowly, "that was fun while it lasted."

Hermione glared at him. "Shut up," she spat.

"What? You kissed me first!" cried Draco as if pleading his innocence. "You _attacked_ me."

"Did not," she said.

"What, did you suffer a memory loss, too?" he asked, grinning playfully.

"No, it's just...ah, go away," she buried her head under her arms.

Hermione had, as Draco put it, practically attacked him on the lips, pressing him down on the bed. Draco was, naturally, surprised a first, but soon took it gratuitously. As it became more intense, however, Hermione had snapped out of it.

"No, no, no, baby, you can't do this. We were actually in pretty good terms before you took the drink!" whined Draco. "You kissed me on the cheek, we were in great terms-"

"I don't hate you, just go away," grumbled Hermione. She was way too embarrassed to look at him in the eye.

ooo

_Voldemort was dead. And so were many Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy. The Order, led by Dumbledore, had prevailed in the end, and Hermione, although slightly scarred, emerged greatly unharmed. _

_However, she could not help feeling sad for Draco, with whom she had kept a secret relationship. Was he okay? He hadn't participated in the fight, and had explained the reason only to Hermione. Either way, he had lost his father._

"_I'm fine," he told her. He sounded calm. _

"_Are you sure?" she asked him timidly, touching his arm._

_There was a silence._

"_I...told him about you," he said quietly at last. "And of course...he did not approve."_

"_Oh."_

_He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Now I can do whatever I want."_

"_-Draco," Hermione began, concerned, "you can't be like that-"_

"_-yes, I can," he interrupted. "Mother doesn't care. Father had it coming to him. I warned him several times."_

_She stared at him. "Draco. If you want to cry, if you want to be sad...it's okay. I won't understand it as wanting revenge or anything like that; he was your father."_

_She held him close. He still did not cry, but he remained in her embrace, thinking. _

**A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry for the super late update. I've been...super busy, trying to transfer. This week I've got to finish all of my transfer essays, but I thought I'd give you guys an update. :) And after March, I think I'll be able to update a bit more often. :) More reviews I get, the more motivated I will be! :D ~ juicyfruits**


	12. Troy

**A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE: 1. A lot of you have been asking me, when is she going to remember everything? Well, when she does, the fic will be over. You guys really want that? It's only been eleven chapters! ;) 2. I gave up fanfic for Lent, which is why I was gone. ****And then I was busy, haha. ****Sorry I went without letting you know first! :P - juicyfruits**

: Troy :

She couldn't believe her luck; he had finally invited her over! They had flirted a bit back in Hogwarts, but he had waited until graduation to ask her out. But then again...why had he rejected when _she_ asked _him_ out? Maybe he was embarrassed. Anyway, she was happy. She looked up at his shiny hair, his gorgeous eyes...only if her other Hogwarts friends could see her now!

She looked over at Leanne to see if she was looking, but Leanne was snogging that Charlie Oken. Oken was, of course, nowhere as good looking as Jeremy was. His hazel eyes really stood out behind those black-rimmed glasses, and he was much taller, much more muscled...

"Pia?"

She looked up, startled. Jeremy was staring at her, confused.

"Yeah?" she answered hastily.

"Nothing, just...you looked really spaced out," he said, shrugging. He went back to reading his book.

What else could she have done? While Leanne was snogging Oken and her other friend Martha flirted endlessly with TJ, she had nothing to do; Jeremy did not keep his eyes off of that stupid book. And it wasn't as if she thought he was new to any of this; it was Jeremy Hanes, for crying out loud! The Hogwarts heartthrob, and for sometime, a well-known player! Why was he acting like a wooden plank, sitting so quietly and still?

And of course, he knew what she was thinking.

He wasn't quite thinking about Hermione, though. He knew it couldn't be; how could it possibly be? She was married, although maybe unhappily so. However, he also did not really feel like snogging Pia like he snogged many other girls, at least not now. He kept on reading.

ooo

"Well, this is unexpected," Draco said.

Hermione looked up from her magazine. "What is?"

He circled the room slowly. "The Big M is coming," he said, "and she actually called three hours in advance. She usually comes on very short notice, to catch us off guard."

"Are we guilty of some crime?" Hermione cried, incredulous.

"From her perspective, yes," he replied, grinning. "Anyways, this means we can stage the perfect scene for her."

She furrowed her brows. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well-"

"-no way," she said quickly, picking up her magazine again.

"I didn't even say anything!" cried Draco.

She shrugged. "I know. But then I realized what you _really_ meant."

"What did I _really_ mean?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Leave me alone," she spat.

"Hermione."

"I'm not doing it," she said coldly.

"We don't have to _do it_, just pretend-"

"-that's not even what I meant."

"I know that," he grinned.

"Do you _have_ to turn everything I say into a sexual innuendo?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"This must be the first time you said _sexual_ so far," he said playfully.

She rolled her eyes again. "Whatever. Do what you want. Just don't get me involved."

"But you're the one I want to do-" he saw her icy glare- "okay, fine, I'll stop."

ooo

"My 'ips are dead," Charlie announced. Jeremy stared at him, amused. Charlie's lips were as swollen as they could possibly be.

"I'm se'ous, 'Eanne 'eally sucked my 'ips off."

"She sure did," said Jeremy, chuckling. "Didn't enjoy it?"

"Not 'eally. She 'et me touch her but she has no boobs," Charlie complained. "Pia, on the other hand, has 'eally nice boobs."

Jeremy made a disgusted face at him.

"What?" said Charlie defensively. "You didn't snog her."

"No, I did not."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't feel like it."

Charlie stared at him as if he was out of his mind.

ooo

The Big M did not visit as she said she would, and the two spent the rest of the day looking at photographs from an album Mr. Watterson had fished out of the library. It was a large, brown leather album with gold binding, with the letters "Hogwarts Memories, Year Six and Seven" imprinted ornately in the front.

"Because we started dating in the sixth year," he explained as he opened the album.

"Who took these pictures?" asked Hermione.

Draco shrugged. "Me, you, some close friends. I bought you a camera; I think it's still in the house somewhere."

Hermione looked at some of the photos. She was smiling brightly and waving in the arms of the much younger Draco Malfoy, who looked kissing the side of her head with his eyes closed.

"Never thought I'd see _this_," sighed Hermione, flipping through. She stopped suddenly at a photo with much more familiar faces: Harry, Ginny, Ron…Ron. Ron. How handsome. The three and Hermione were laughing under a tree together.

"Who took this one?"

"I did," he replied. "I wouldn't have liked to include your little friends, but you looked too beautiful to not capture it."

"Cheesy line," she said, but she couldn't help but grin. She turned to the next page and there was a picture of Draco, grinning in his Slytherin uniform. She turned back to the group photo under the tree. Ron, Draco, Ron, Draco, Ron, Draco. Perhaps Draco was a bit better-looking, now that she saw the pictures like that. Maybe.

"Oh, look! It's our baby!" cried Draco suddenly.

"_What?_" cried Hermione, aghast. Draco was pointing at a picture near the lake, where Hermione and cradling what seemed like an infant while Draco sat next to them, smiling. "We had a _baby_?"

"Yeah. Aww, look at him, he is so cute," said Draco, completely absorbed into the picture. There was another one just of the baby, and Draco ran his finger over the photo. "He has my good looks. Look! Troy was such a good baby."

"Troy? What…I, I…the baby…you…" she looked as if she was about to cry.

In the photo the baby blinked and smiled his adorable baby grin, his little hands moving. Draco was completely taken with the photos, admiring the little baby.

"_We had a baby?_" cried Hermione.

"Yes, isn't he good-looking? And he has your eyes," smiled Draco. He turned the page. "Look, there's you breast-feeding him-"

"-_what?_" she shrieked.

Draco tilted his head back and laughed. "Just kidding, Hermione!"

"What is this baby?" she snapped.

"Our project," he grinned. "In our seventh year the school made each student or each student-couple take care of a baby for a month. For educational purposes, I think. But it's not completely real, we had to turn him in at the end of the month. They are created magically and act and feel like real babies, and we were allowed to alter the baby's looks in the beginning of the month. So we gave him my good looks and your eyes."

Hermione sighed in relief, and Draco grinned at her. She finally could take a good look at the photos without feeling scared to death. He was, after all, pretty darn cute.

"I wish we still had him," sighed Draco. "It was fun."

"I don't understand," said Hermione slowly. "If you like the baby thing…why didn't we…"

"Didn't we what?" he asked absent-mindedly, looking at the photos.

"With the Big M and everything…"

He looked up, realizing what she meant. "Why didn't we just have a real baby in the past two years?"

She nodded.

He seemed a bit lost as to what to reply. "Well…I guess we thought we weren't ready yet. Just enjoy ourselves, you know?" He looked back at the baby's photo. "I guess I forgot how much I liked that little guy."

Hermione felt a sudden urge to hug him. This side of him she never knew about…

ooo

"_Mr. Malfoy, you have to hand it over," said Professor McGonagall, looking a bit amused despite herself. _

"_Could I, er…purchase him, maybe?" his hopeful eyes made McGonagall want to shake him to make sure he was for real._

"_These are school properties, Mr. Malfoy. So no, you may not. Hand it over."_

_Draco stared sideways at Hermione, who also looked saddened. Troy cooed and made gurgling noises in Draco's arms._

"_It's not really a baby, Mr. Malfoy," said McGonagall kindly, "it's just an imitation."_

"_I know that, ma'am," said Draco, sounding a bit frustrated. _

"_It's quite normal to get attached to these things, Mr. Malfoy," she explained. "Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley had a hard time returning theirs, too. They offered to pay for theirs, too, but it just cannot be…I would suggest purchasing one elsewhere, but I'm afraid these are sold exclusively to educational institutes due to being so realistic."_

_Hermione took Troy from Draco and held him tight. A tear rolled down her eye, although she knew she was being ridiculous. This baby was not real, he wasn't really theirs to keep and nurture like they had for the past month. _

"_In fact, Mr. Weasley hid his…we had quite a hard time locating the thing," sighed McGonagall, rubbing her temples._

_And so, reluctantly, they gave the baby to McGonagall, who took it carefully. The couple walked out sadly._

"_You okay?" asked Hermione carefully._

"_Of course," said Draco. "You?"_

"_Not so much," she replied truthfully. _

_He hugged her tightly. "It's just an imitation. We'll have our own, real baby."_

_She looked up at him, her eyes wide. He laughed a little._

"_Not anytime soon, of course," he grinned. "And we'll name him Troy."_

"_What if we have a girl?" asked Hermione, her cheeks pink as she imagined getting married to him someday and having a family of their own. It was all too soon to think about this, and it made her giddy._


	13. LA LA LA LA LA LA

: LA LA LA LA LA LA:

"I am in love with you, Hermione," said Draco, his eyes staring deeply into hers. Hermione tried to be unfazed, but it was more difficult than she had expected.

"And you now, Hermione?" asked Madame Fitzer.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit of a stupid exercise?" said Hermione, diverting her eyes from Draco's.

"It's a necessary one," snapped the Healer. "It'll help with the process. Go on."

Hermione groaned. She turned back to Draco, who was smiling gently. She took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. "I am…in love with you, Draco."

Draco held his breath. Hermione held her breath. Madame Fitzer held her breath.

Nothing.

"Well," said the Healer. "I want you to do that everyday from now on."

"Despite the fact that it clearly didn't work?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes. "It's pointless."

"Look," snapped Madame Fitzer, looking extremely annoyed. "You turned down all of my other suggestions."

"Because your suggestions are ludicrous?" Hermione snapped right back, her face flushing red. "You cannot just force intimacy upon people!"

"I'm a certified Healer."

"Means nothing," Hermione said.

"Get out."

ooo

"You did not have to do that," groaned Draco as they Apparated into the Manor. "No point of pissing her off."

"She's not helpful at all," Hermione said.

"She has been helpful. You can't deny that," he sighed. He walked over to the coffee table, where several bottles were standing. He picked one up. "Here, time to take another one of these."

"I don't want to," whined Hermione, and Watterson came right away with a goblet and a glass of strawberry juice.

"Come on," said Draco. He took the goblet, uncapped the bottle, and poured the potion in. "Here."

Hermione groaned again and took the goblet. She closed her eyes and took one big gulp, to get it over with.

"Wait," she gasped. "That didn't taste bad at all."

"What?"

"It doesn't taste the same as the other ones I took. It's this…pleasant citrus flavor."

Draco picked up the bottle quickly to examine it. "Uh-oh."

"What? What uh-oh?" cried Hermione, startled.

"This isn't from Madame Fitzer."

"What? What is it? Tell me! What did I take?" Hermione was freaking out.

"That was from the Big M."

Uh-oh.

Almost right away, she could feel it – a sort of _heat_.

ooo

It would have been so easy to take advantage of the situation. In fact, it was extremely difficult to _not_ do so.

For one thing, he knew she would regret it later. He knew she'd think he took advantage of her. So he sat outside the bedroom door, trying to ignore Hermione's banging and yelling of pure desire.

"You're killing me," moaned Hermione.

"You're the one's who's killing me," replied Draco. He wasn't sure which one of them was in more pain.

"You don't understand, Draco," called Hermione from the room. "I'm in physical pain. I don't exactly know what's going on but I'm all wet down here-"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA."

"Can't you just come in and hold me a while-"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA."

"Please? Pretty please? Just let me out, I'm dying here-Draco, I'm thirsty."

"I can't let you out, you know that."

"I'm thirsty. I need water."

Draco bit his lower lip. "Fine. Watterson?"

Watterson came right away with a glass of water. Draco took the glass and stood up. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to open the door and hand you the glass. That's it."

"Okay."

He unlocked the door.

She attacked him.

Her lips glued to his, she pushed him with incredible force to the sofa, where they both collapsed. Both her hands were on his face at first, but later she was guiding his hands down her blouse and up her skirt. He felt the wetness. He felt faint.

"This isn't you, this is the potion," gasped Draco.

"I don't care." She was quite busy trying to attack his pants and force his hands on her at the same time.

"You're going to be embarrassed about this later."

"I don't care."

"Of course you don't now," groaned Draco.

His pants were undone. Her blouse was off.

ooo

"I'm sorry," whined Hermione. Draco sat on the floor again, his back to the bedroom door behind which his wife complained, hot and bothered.

"But I'm thirsty," she said.

"Not falling for that again," said Draco grumpily. "You are so selfish. You have any idea what you're doing to me right now? You're lucky I have much better self-control than when we were back in Hogwarts."

"Don't have self control," suggested Hermione.

"Ugh."

"Do that again!"

"What?"

"_Ugh. Mmm. Hmmph. Oooh_."

"Hermione!"

"Am I turning you on?"

"Hermione!" Draco got up. "I'm leaving."

"No! Don't leave me!"

He sat back down, groaning. He heard her sigh at his groan. He sighed. "You are being ridiculous. And it's all in the potion. It'll be over soon and you'll thank me for this."

"Thank you for making me suffer like this?" snapped Hermione. "Open the door – I swear I won't say anything."

"I'm making you suffer? Do you have any idea how I'm suffering?" cried Draco.

"Are you mad at me? Maybe you should come in here and punish me."

Apparently, more dirty thoughts were within the sixteen-year old Hermione than he had thought.

"Well, if you won't help me, I'm going to help myself."

"What?"

"And I'll be loud."

"Hermione-"

"I guess I should just use my hand?"

Draco clenched his eyes.

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA."

ooo

_"You sure about this?" asked Draco._

_She nodded._

_"If you don't want to do it, I'm not pressuring you at all-"_

_"Draco, I'm ready."_

_"Okay."_

_"Don't go easy on me or anything. Go as hard as you want."_

_He looked troubled. "You might get hurt."_

_"Merlin, you two!" cried Harry, rolling his eyes. "It's a blasted game of friendly Quidditch! Hermione, if you don't want to play, I'll get out so the teams are even. Seriously, can we get started already?"_

_Hermione grinned at Draco. "Let's do this."_

ooo

**A/N: Remember when I promised I'm not going to abandon this story? I am not going to abandon it, but yes, it's true I have not updated in forever. I was just going through a very crazy time in my life, but your continued reviews and messages motivated me to get back to this. I cannot promise frequent updates but I do want to thank all of you for your continued support! The messages and reviews guilt-trip me into updating. ****:) Love you all! **


	14. Analyses and Crushes

: Analyses and Crushes :

As he had warned her repeatedly while stationed outside the bedroom door, Hermione was embarrassed.

The potion did wear off eventually, and she sat quite still in the bedroom with her face crimson red. It was more of a gradual wear-off. She began to calm down and the unnatural heat left her body – or at least concentrated up to her face.

She could not hear him outside, but she dared not open the door. She just sat there, feeling extremely embarrassed, and also with a newfound respect and admiration for Draco.

Another thing that crossed her mind was that although she took the wrong potion, it did do more than what the correct potion had done previously; she remembered quite many things.

Well, all relating to a certain aspect of the two's relationship, that is.

And by Merlin, they had quite a lot of sex.

ooo

"Jeremy, you're being stupid."

Jeremy did not budge from Charlie's sofa. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"I am fucking embarrassed, alright?" said Jeremy. "What if I run into her? She'd think I'm a joke."

Talking sense into Jeremy Hanes had been difficult, but now that he was finally convinced the twenty-five year old was off-limits, he now refused to go to Diagon Alley for any reason for the fear that he may run into her again.

"She's not gonna think you're a joke," said Charlie.

"Nope," said Ben.

Charlie turned. "What are you doing here?"

Ben shrugged. "Your brother invited me."

"Where is he?"

Ben shrugged again. "Can we focus on Jeremy again, please?

Jeremy groaned. "No, thanks."

"You know what your problem is, Jeremy?" said Charlie. "You are always after the unobtainable."

"Ooh," said Ben. "That sounds super deep and stuff."

Charlie groaned. "You know, I know it's a stereotype and all about gay guys being flamboyant, but seriously, how is it that both you _and_ my brother are the flamboyant ones? Isn't it usually the case that at least one of you is _not_?"

"Don't go raining on our gay parade, Charles," Ben snapped. "Go on with this theory of yours."

"I'm still here, you know," said Jeremy, but he was promptly ignored.

"You see, Jeremy here is bored with the obtainable. All the girls at school practically threw themselves at him – at first he might be interested, and the moment they show interest back, he got bored."

"That is not true," said Jeremy, but was again ignored.

"He simply ran out of people who are out of his reach," Charlie continued.

"How about straight boys?" offered Ben.

Charlie thought. "If I am not mistaken, I am pretty sure one guy _turned_ gay _for_ Jeremy. Remember Thomas Yelby?"

"He was always gay," Jeremy contended. "You are being ridiculous."

"How about teachers?" Ben suggested.

"Gross. The youngest professor we had was at least forty-five," said Jeremy, frowning.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Well, you certainly didn't have trouble with the twenty-five year old."

"It's not the whole age thing, I think," observed Charlie. "I think her being married and unobtainable is what really got him excited.

Jeremy groaned. "You two are being stupid. You know I was interested before I found out she was married."

"Oh yeah," said Charlie.

"Nice analysis, Charlie," said Ben.

ooo

There was a knock at the door.

"Are you all right, baby? It's been awhile, I'm sure it's all worn off now," came Draco's voice. Hermione did not move a muscle and held her breath. She heard him sigh outside.

"I will not speak a word of it, I promise," he continued. "It was the potion. Now come out, please."

She took a deep breath and got up from the bed. She unlocked and opened the door slowly. Draco stood there, looking relieved.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

She covered her face with her hands. "I thought we weren't going to talk about it."

"I know, I know. Shh." He took her in his arms, and she let herself rest there a bit. It was comforting.

"Well, you still have to take the potion," said Draco softly when she finally pulled away. "It's there on the table."

She groaned. "Fine."

ooo

Taking Madame Fitzer's potion made Hermione admire the Big M more – she did not remember anything after taking it, while the Big M's potion had brought back quite many memories. The only thing was that she was too embarrassed to mention them to Draco, who now sat reading the Daily Prophet across from her at the dinner table.

So tall, so handsome. She supposed she should have seen it coming – he took good care of himself back in school, and as a man in his mid-twenties, Draco Malfoy was as stunning as ever.

"What are you doing?" asked Draco, not looking up from his paper.

"What?" jumped Hermione, dropping her fork.

He rolled his eyes. "You were staring at me?"

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

She cleared her throat. "I was not! And…so what if I was?"

Draco put down the paper. He looked amused. "Nothing wrong with that at all. Stare away." He smiled at her.

And how strange that felt.

It was not really as if she were a twenty-five year old Hermione remembering something from the past – this was something new.

It was like developing a whole new crush on someone.

How laughable – to start fancying the man she is apparently married to – but it was definitely happening, and it was so strange to her. She even felt a little giddy as he threw her a playful wink.

"Draco," she said suddenly. What was she doing? What was going on? "I think we should try something."

"Oh?"

What did she have to lose? Weren't they married?

"You were always saying, trying a few things might help bring some memories back, and I was thinking-"

A look of concern shadowed Draco's face. "Are you still under the effects of the potion?"

"I don't think I am," said Hermione slowly. Perhaps she was? Who could tell? "But… nothing too intense, you know? Simple things, I suppose."

"Are you sure?"

What the hell was wrong with him? Wasn't he always trying to get back to the intimacies of the more recent past? Now that she was suggesting some, he seemed hesitant.

"I mean, we are married, right?"

"Right."

"I mean, only if it's okay with you."

"Look," he said. "I will do whatever you ask to do, under your terms. This is for you."

"Okay."

"But – and I know I wouldn't say anything, but it's necessary in this case – after what happened today, I am going to have a little more difficulty, er, _containing_ myself. Let's throw that in there as a fair warning."

Hermione nodded.

"Because even though you may feel twenty-five is old or whatnot, it's still young," he continued.

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "I get it, alright? I am not saying we should, um, have you-know-what, I'm just saying we could try a few things-"

He grinned. "Did you just call shagging _you-know-what_?"

"Shut up."

ooo

"_You cannot be serious, Hermione," said Harry, sounding more frustrated than she had ever heard him. "If this is some sort of a comeback against Ron-"_

"_Don't be ridiculous, Harry," groaned Hermione. "Our breakup has nothing to do with this, and it was a mutual decision. You know that."_

"_But why him? You know what a dick Malfoy has been to us all these years! I mean, I am surprised at him, too-"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Hermione._

_Harry looked exasperated. "You know what I mean, Hermione. Nothing on your part, of course – you are beautiful, talented, kind – I mean you are one of my best friends! But you know how Malfoy is! Never in a thousand years would I have imagined he would date a Muggle-born witch or even a half-blood one! He even looks down on the Weasleys for being so-called 'blood traitors'. You cannot deny this. You know how he is."_

_She sighed. "Harry, I…you can't control one's feelings, Harry. You know that. You know that better than anyone- didn't you try and not like Ginny, too? Friends' siblings being off-limits?"_

"_That's different."_

"_Not by much," Hermione retorted. "I need you to be supportive of me, Harry. How am I going to tell Ron? He's my best friend, too, you know!"_

"_Tell me what?"_

_The two turned. Ron stood at the door, staring at his friends apprehensively._

"_Tell me what, exactly?"_

ooo

**A/N: Riddle me this – what kind of a lucky girl gets over twenty reviews within a day of updating a story? I feel I have the best readers in the WORLD. So I had to update. I love you all so much and your reviews keep me going. 3 juicyfruits**


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